W&J receives recognition for campus arboretum
Washington & Jefferson College Professor Jason Kilgore, second from right, with students, staff and faculty during their Arbor Day 2019 event, when they planted a white fir on campus.
Environmental studies major Brandon Marcucci evaluates a tree on W&J’s campus this past winter.
Students, faculty and staff celebrate the Tree Campus USA recognition on Arbor Day 2017.
An example of the tree tags used for W&J’s arboretum, which provides information about the type of tree.
David Kraeuter, the community member on the arboretum advisory committee, examines a giant sequoia he donated to the project.
A field biology class uses the arboretum trees for a workshop on sketching.
Sarah Dudik
Professor Jason Kilgore meets with alumni and guests to start the arboretum tour outside of Swanson Science Center during Homecoming at Washington & Jefferson College, Oct. 5, 2019.
Professor Jason Kilgore established an arboretum at Washington & Jefferson College seven years ago.
The arboretum, a tree garden which spans the entire campus, has since received “Tree Campus USA” recognition form the Arbor Day Foundation.
In the seven years since it was established, W&J’s arboretum has grown to include 1,128 trees from 103 different species.
Kilgore, an associate professor of biology, worked with Kyle Karwatski to start the arboretum.
Karwatski graduated from W&J in 2014 with a degree in computing and information studies. He assisted Kilgore in designing a database with the location and identities of all the trees on campus.
“I was able to get support from the dean’s office to hire a computing student, who at the beginning had no background in trees or databases,” Kilgore said. “I recognized a lot of potential in this student.”
Each year, new trees are planted on campus, and many are donated.
Since 2012, other students have stepped in Karwatski’s role as “Arboretum Information Specialist” to help Kilgore expand the database and check on the status of the trees.
They measure the condition and growth of each tree. They use a five scale ranking system for the conditions of the trees, from poor to excellent.
“Trees that are poor have to be removed,” Kilgore said. “That information is really helpful to facilities.”
Tim Lucas, director of facilities for W&J, helps Kilgore manage the arboretum, and utilizes the data compiled by the students to take care of the trees.
More recently, Kilgore and the students have begun putting metal tags on the trees with information about the species.
“That was a big step for our arboretum. Anyone coming to campus can go to any tree and learn about its common name, its scientific name,” Kilgore said.
Before coming to W&J, Kilgore had experience managing an arboretum while he was earning his doctorate at Michigan State University, where he was an assistant to the campus arboretum.
Now at W&J, he has applied for the Tree Campus USA from the Arbor Day Foundation for seven years in a row, and received it.
To receive that distinction, an arboretum must have a campus tree advisory committee, campus tree care plan, dedicated annual expenses, annual Arbor Day observance and a service learning project.
“It puts W&J on the national platform for campus arboreta. Typically, they are well-known at large colleges … We are becoming a destination for gardening clubs, and even the curator of Michigan State’s arboretum came and visited. It’s good for the college on that national level,” Kilgore said.
For the campus community itself, Kilgore said the arboretum provides a “diversity of form, color and shape.”
“People feel more comfortable around trees. Imagine your town without trees. We’d have lawns, sidewalks, parking lots and buildings,” Kilgore said.
Kilgore also gave credit to W&J President John Knapp for helping facilitate the project.
“He has really focused on investing in the campus landscape. He recognizes how important it is for students to live in a place that is aesthetically pleasing, and staff and faculty to working in a place where they enjoy going out,” Kilgore said.
For the students that have worked with Kilgore, the arboretum has provided a springboard for career opportunities.
“(Karwatski) used this project as a major portion of his portfolio, which he then used the following summer to get an internship at UPMC, developing apps,” Kilgore said. “The following year, he graduated and went to work with UPMC to lead the development of their apps.”
Arbor Day this year falls April 24. Typically, Kilgore and the students involved with the arboretum observe the holiday by planting a new tree. However, because of concerns about COVID-19, that event has been pushed to the fall.
Kilgore said there are seniors who are disappointed in the delay, but that there is a silver lining.
“Planting a tree in the fall is actually better than planting one in the spring,” Kilgore said, adding there is a higher rate of survival for trees in the fall. “I don’t think that moving our Arbor Day event to, say, October, is going to be a problem.”