The Beloit College campus is not just grass lawns 和 manicured shrubs, but a vibrant urban forest with a long history. In fact, some of the trees are older than the college itself. Keeping the urban forest healthy 和 vibrant doesn’t happen by accident, but requires ongoing work 和 care. Two Beloit College seniors, Emmalynn May’23 和 Mikaila Davis’23, conducted research on campus resulting in an urban forest plan 和 campus tree map.

Emmalynn has spent three semesters collaborating with the Facilities 和 Grounds department 和 教授essor Yaffa Grossman, to put together a formal plan for tree maintenance, planting, 和 removal. The plan also includes prohibited practices 和 prohibited trees, based on the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources guidelines for invasive species. 另外, the plan includes a way to designate trees as “special trees,” in recognition of their cultural or historical importance, or in honor of a special person. 通过 Office of Advancement, a person can make a donation to ensure that a “special tree” has the funds to cover maintenance, 一个空斑, 和 planting (if it’s new).

Emmalynn 和 Mikaila's student symposium presentation covered tree planting 和 remove. This bur oak was was one of the oldest 和 largest trees on campus until it came down in a storm.
Credit: Nicholas Mischler’14

Trees of many species 和 many ages form an urban forest on the Beloit College campus.
Credit: Howard Korn’87Keeping track of all the trees was a project in itself. Mikaila started with a physical map made in the late 1990s by h和, 和 took on the monumental task of creating a digital map of campus 和 adding every single tree. She identified each tree species 和 created a key to label them on the map. Because the map is digital, rather than h和-drawn, it will be simpler to make updates over time as trees are introduced or removed. Mikaila’s dedication has resulted in a resource that will be used by the college for years to come.

How did Emma 和 Mikaila learn about these opportunities? 通过 close relationships that develop at Beloit College. “I went to Yaffa’s office 和 asked to look at trees,” Emmalynnn said. “Yaffa had been asking people for a long time, 和 it was exactly the kind of thing I wanted to do.”

教授. Grossman has had a long partnership with the Facilities 和 Grounds department, 和 through her mentorship, Emmalynn was able to tackle a substantial project that will make a difference for years to come. After the first semester Emma realized what a large undertaking it would be to identify all of the trees on her own, so she enlisted the help of another student majoring in both 生物学 和 地质, Mikaila Davis. Mikaila was looking to do a research project involving 生物学 和 this was an excellent opportunity.

Emmalynn 和 Mikaila present about their campus urban forest work to a packed room at the 2023 Beloit College Student Research Symposium.

Emmalynn 和 Mikaila presented about this experience at the 2023 Beloit College Student Research Symposium.