Many UConn classes have raised funds to buy and plant class trees over the decades, and it became a more formal annual initiative starting in 2018<\/a> through the UConn Arboretum Committee, with representatives of each graduating class.<\/p>\n \u201cI was excited to help with this project because it feels like a way to leave UConn on a positive lasting note,\u201d says newly minted graduate Sophie MacDonald \u201920 (ENG) of Litchfield, a committee member and the lead student organizer on this year\u2019s effort.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s class tree planting was complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to transition almost all students and employees off campus. In fact, some Arboretum Committee members joke that the overcup oak could be nicknamed the \u201covercame oak,\u201d given how many hurdles the Class of 2020 successfully crossed this spring to graduate during the pandemic.<\/p>\n On a day shortly before commencement, mild and clear weather presented the perfect opportunity for a handful of UConn facilities workers, all wearing protective masks, to complete the task and plant the tree in its permanent spot.<\/p>\n The overcup oak<\/a> is described as a species known to adapt comfortably to most soil conditions, with dark green summer leaves that in the fall turn the brilliant yellow-brown shades that can be found on several other kinds of trees across UConn Storrs.<\/p>\n Its branches grow in a rounded way to create a crown-like appearance, and its acorns are particularly popular with squirrels and other small wildlife creatures. It\u2019s also strongly resistant to pests and flooding, making it a hardy addition to most landscapes.<\/p>\n UConn\u2019s tree population has a storied history, with the Storrs campus recognized as a Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation \u2013 the only school in Connecticut and one of just three in New England with that designation.<\/p>\n Graduating students have been planting a \u201cclass tree\u201d off and on for more than 125 years, with descriptions existing in the 1880s, not long after the institution was established as the Storrs Agricultural College.<\/p>\n In 1893, a willow was planted<\/a> as the class tree near Swan Lake (then called the Duck Pond), not far from the pole bringing the first telephone line to President Benjamin F. Koons\u2019 office.<\/p>\n The Board of Trustees\u2019 report for 1898<\/a> includes a photo and description of that year\u2019s planting, in which each student shoveled some of the dirt before a separate \u201cclass ivy\u201d was also planted and the attendees gave three cheers for the Class of 1898.<\/p>\n The modern class tree initiative is led by emeritus professors Greg Anderson, Distinguished Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and Richard Brown,\u00a0Distinguished Professor of History. Both are members of the Arboretum Committee, with Anderson serving as one of its co-chairs.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are actually class trees all over campus from the 1950s and 1960s that are now very mature,\u201d Anderson said in 2018 when the initiative was formalized.<\/p>\n \u201cWe would like the current students to take ownership of this and have each class plant trees. It brings people back to campus after they graduate,\u201d he said. \u201cThey can show their children and grandchildren that this is a tree their parent or grandparent planted.\u201d<\/p>\n The\u00a0UConn Arboretum Committee helps oversee the care of the campus trees and shrubs, and manages an\u00a0interactive map and inventory<\/a>\u00a0of more than 4,600 individual trees. It also produces a brochure to direct people through\u00a0a self-guided tour<\/a>\u00a0of nearly 40 special selections.<\/p>\n The dedicated annual class tree plantings, in addition to celebrating each year\u2019s graduates, help achieve UConn\u2019s goals for a succession plan to ensure there are many healthy trees on campus as older mature trees decline in health or become hazards.<\/p>\n MacDonald said Anderson\u2019s enthusiasm for the annual class tree planting made it even more enjoyable for her and the other students involved, especially as they envisioned visiting the mature tree someday with their families to share its story and meaning.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn’t get to see the actual tree planting this year, but I imagine once I’m able to actually return to campus and see it in the ground, I’ll feel what (Anderson) wants me to feel: some sense of legacy, and some sense of peace,\u201d MacDonald says.<\/p>\n Like Anderson, MacDonald knows and appreciates the value of the various trees around UConn\u2019s campus, having helped in the work to re-certifying UConn as a Tree Campus USA for the past few years as an intern in the University\u2019s Office of Sustainability.<\/p>\n The future of the initiative is in good hands: Two of the most involved students in this year\u2019s efforts, Mara Tu and Emma MacDonald \u2013 Sophie\u2019s sister \u2013 are juniors, and will already have experience with the tree-planting tradition in the coming year when they are seniors.<\/p>\n![\"Planting](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Planting-of-Oak-tree-Grandson-of-Connecticut-Charter-Oak-1947-1024x787.jpg\")