Out in a field in North Auburn, 43 descendants of the original Auburn Oaks have been growing for 15 years. And in February 2016, Samford Park will welcome 21 of them to line the new walkway running from Toomer’s Corner to Samford Hall.
The School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, in conjunction with the Office of Development, has allowed donors to “name” the descendants in honor of their $50,000 philanthropic contribution to the University.
“The funds that are going to be generated from these naming opportunities are going to go into an endowed fund for excellence,” said Heather Crozier, development officer.
Because of the expected interest in this opportunity, potential donors had to register online by Sept. 15 to be put into a lottery. The 21 donors selected will be notified the week of Sept. 21.
The School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences began collecting and growing the acorns of the Auburn Oaks in 2000 after someone set fire to the trees, according to Scott Enebak, forest pathology professor and director of the Southern Forest Nursery Management Cooperative.
Enebak said the president asked the forestry department what it could do in case the Oaks died unexpectedly, and Enebak suggested collecting and growing the acorns so the Oaks could be replaced 20 years later if needed.
The School of Forestry initially planted 50 acorns in a field, of which seven have died over the years, and then annually collected acorns from the Oaks to sell to the public, with proceeds going to scholarships.
“It was a two-pronged approach: let’s collect some acorns and have replacement trees ready in case something happens to the trees in the Corner, and let’s collect them every year and sell them to alumni,” Enebak said.
Each year the Wildlife and Forestry Clubs grew approximately 700 seedlings and generated about $250,000 for undergraduate scholarships, according to Enebak.
“What we didn’t expect was a poisoning 10 years later,” Enebak said.
The Oaks’ descendants weren’t big enough to replace them on the corner in 2010, and they lost the annual scholarship money produced by selling seedlings.
However, this past winter, Facilities Management decided to include the 21 descendants to the Samford Park redevelopment project, according to Crozier.
“While we lost the sales of the Oaks, I think this will make up for everything that they lost,” Enebak said.
Facilities Management will execute the replanting of the trees in February, and in the last year, Facilities and the School of Forestry have been preparing the trees for the transplant by pruning their branches and roots.
The descendants, now approximately 20-25 feet tall, will have barriers like the Oaks on the corner, according to Ben Burmester, campus planner with Facilities Management.
“We will likely work in coordination with the Office of Communication and Marketing to do a PR campaign to try and protect these trees (from rolling),” Burmester said.
A few of the remaining descendants will serve as back-up trees for the 21, and the rest are not repurposed yet.
“A lot of what we do—at least in forestry—we plant things for the next generation, and we use things from a previous generation,” Enebak said.
The descendants will be dedicated A-Day weekend, which is set to be April 6, 2016.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
