April 21, 2008

BERKELEY - University of California student-athletes helped commemorate Earth Day with a volunteer tree planting on campus on Monday afternoon. Volunteers representing many different Golden Bear sport programs participated in the fun and meaningful sustainability activity to enhance the campus landscape.

"The goal of today's event was to have our student-athletes take part in an Earth Day celebration," associate athletic director Bob Milano, Jr., said. "It all goes hand-in-hand with the campus push for increased awareness and participation in sustainability."

Prior to the actual tree-planting, the student-athletes came together to receive background information on the event. While not designed to be a hard-labor type activity, the event was more of an educational experience. Campus landscape architect Jim Horner spoke to the group, explaining the process of how a tree is properly planted and the effort that goes into assisting it into a fully-grown adult tree. He also detailed the locations and types of trees to be planted, giving information on why certain trees are better suited for different locations - such as amount of sunlight and irrigation.

His message that resonated most with the student-athletes, however, was that 30 years from now, they will be able to come back to campus and point out trees that they had a part in planting.

"It's a little different activity than what they're used to in the classroom or on the athletic field," Horner said. "But you can certainly see the team spirit and the camaraderie and the enthusiasm here. They're really enjoying themselves today while adding to the beauty of the campus and establishing the next generation of trees."

The trees were planted in various parts of Faculty Glade and will serve multiple purposes. In addition to replacing trees that have irreversible health issues, it will also bring additional beauty to the area. While Faculty Glade used to have more flowering plants, that has been diminishing. With the addition of dogwood trees, a new species on the Cal campus, it will help bring back more of the flowering character of the glade.