With Additions to Campus, Trees are Sparse

A grove of trees lines the front of the Fine and Performing Arts Center. Photo Credit / Rebecca Jasulevicz
A grove of trees lines the front of the Fine and Performing Arts Center. Photo Credit / Rebecca Jasulevicz
A grove of trees lines the front of the Fine and Performing Arts Center.
Photo Credit / Rebecca Jasulevicz

By Cory Wickward
SC Contributing Writer

Trees are an important part of Earth’s natural beauty. They add color and life to areas that would otherwise remain desolate.

Parks, trails and other areas of natural beauty would be incomplete without these sturdy beings.

Autumn would be dull and lackluster if it weren’t for these leafy towers.

Over the years, this campus has changed in multiple ways, including the surrounding tree population.

Trees used to occupy the areas where new buildings now reside.

Where the Hemlock Suites now stand, once stood a small groove of trees.

It was a peaceful area where many students found the quiet serenity perfect for studying and relaxing.

The shade made by these trees was just right in a way that didn’t make it too cool, but at the same time, didn’t allow the area to get too warm.

The trees are gone now, replaced by a new dorm.

That wasn’t the only change. If you venture up to the University Apartments, you will see an area sitting next to the buildings occupied by a groove of large trees, benches, and even park grills.

The grills are still usable, but remain more as a reminder of what was once connected to it.

If one were to follow the sidewalk that leads away from the UAs, they would see that the sidewalk bumps into the curb of the opposite side of the road.

A few years ago, there was a sidewalk that led through a groove of trees that connected to a field. This was before the Hawthorn suite that now occupies that area was built.

The area was prime for picnicking and enjoying the sights. From the big windows of Lenape, one used to be able to see over the field and watch fireflies perform their final dance at the start of the new fall semester.

No more can you see this from Lenape, nor any dorm.

Another landmark remnant of the past that many pass without thought is the pavilion that many see and few use. It has stood there for many years; the graffiti on the benches give an idea of how old they are.

That area was once a grove of young maple trees, with no fence blocking the hill and a brick stove which was used for grilling more often than not.

It was an ideal place to relax, hangout, or to just get away.

There are very few places left on campus that could even compare to these places.

The trees lost were unique and can never be completely replaced. They were an important part of this campus when I came here, and I feel as though they were ripped away without consent.

As this campus grows in population, it shrinks in other areas. Remember this ESU: We need more trees and more natural beauty back into this school. This campus was once great in that area.

Email Cory at:
caw7244@live.esu.edu