These statistics are a sample of the information offered in the Sustainability Office's new online , which aims to acquaint people with the campus's most statuesque denizens.
The ³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿ Tree Tour is an outgrowth of a 2023 survey, first worked on by Dylan Petrillo ’26 for a unique summer job. He mapped out more than 1,000 trees between Bath Road, Park Row, Sills Drive, College Street, and South Street, recording their species, diameter, height, and health.
Though originally conducted as a means to monitor the conditions of trees, Director of Sustainability Keisha Payson and her student team decided campus visitors might also appreciate the information in the study.
To turn the findings into a usable product, Petrillo and Julia Kate “JK” Bradley ’25 crafted an ArcGis Storymap from Petrillo's data. They also did additional research, anticipating what people might want to know, such as which trees are among the campus arborist's favorites (spoiler: the Kentucky coffee tree and the paperbark maple, plus others.)
The Tree Tour also introduces ³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿'s tree crew, lays out the College's tree care and pest management plan, and explains ³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿'s status as a . It names a few classes that study trees, offers details about the historic ³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿ Pines, and includes photos and information about ³Õºº¾ãÀÖ²¿'s maple syrup production.
The project supports one of Payson's communications objectives. “We want people to know there’s intentionality around the trees on campus and the care that goes into them,” she said. “And we want people to know how much we appreciate them.”
“They are part of what makes our campus beautiful,” she added. ”And for the curious who might have questions, there is now a resource for people to learn about them.”
Below are a couple of screenshots from the Tree Tour, plus several of the many beautiful photographs of campus trees in the College's photo vault.
