Purdue ends five year plan, plants 3,738th tree

Five years and 3,738 trees later, they're finally done.

The "1869 Tree Planting Plan" which began with the goal of adding 1,869 new trees to campus ended up doubling its planting output on the wishes of then-Purdue President Mitch Daniels.

"I love it. I love it so much, I'd like to double it," facilities operation vice president Ryan Gallagher remembered Daniels saying as he stood next to the final planted tree Tuesday.

The final tree, specifically chosen for location outside the WALC, is a patriot elm, and has improved resistance to the Dutch elm disease.

The Purdue grounds crew, alongside the Purdue Arboretum, and the forestry department with many volunteers were the ones that made the whole thing happen.

“They are the unsung heroes of this university and without their hard work every single hour, we wouldn’t be here," Chiang said. "When I wake up and look around here, and in the early morning, I see a lot of them working hard. The significance of the 3,738th tree is yet another demonstration of the effort by this university in sustainability and providing a really green and beautiful canvas for all our current and future students, parents, staff, faculty, and visitors."

Among the thousands of trees planted, there were around fifty different native species provided through tree brokers like Listerman Associates and Woody Warehouse.

“The 1869 Tree Project created a wonderful opportunity to further diversify our campus tree collection or particularly, this initiative provided an opportunity to increase the number of native tree species on this campus in a very big way," Paul Siciliano, arboretum director, said over email. “That several thousand new trees were planted, many of which are native, will help support ecological function and promote ethical and sustainable use of native plants in Indiana landscapes.”

The project took five years and meant planting around two trees a day, on top of the ongoing maintenance of the other 40,000 plants on campus (which are all mapped by the arboretum).

“Basically, we’re always constantly going all year round,” Peter Vaughn, lead campus arborist, said. “We’re very proud to be able to accomplish this and it’s really just a great way to improve our canopy.”