Arboretum Tours Start October 2
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 19, 2002
Joe Wills
530-898-4143
Wes Dempsey, Biology Professor, Emeritus
530-342-2293
Arboretum Tours Start October 2
A series of free tours to see the trees of the California State University, Chico campus arboretum will be available on five Wednesdays, starting October 2. The easy walks will meet at 11 a.m. in front of Kendall Hall, the administration building.
Additional tours will be offered every two weeks thereafter on October 16 and 30, November 13 and December 4. Each tour will cover a different part of campus with as little repetition as possible. The walks are open to the public and are led by members of the staff and faculty.
A new map and guide to more than 200 species of woody plants on campus is now available. Titled “Campus Trees,” it includes a brief history of the arboretum and gives the location of an outstanding example of each kind of tree. It is available for $2 at the Associate Students Bookstore, Bidwell Mansion and the biology department office in Holt Hall.
The first tour will show off some of the plants used in traditional and modern medicine such as cascara sagrada (California coffeeberry), ginkgo, Oregon grape, sweetgum and soap root. Plants in bloom will also be shown. Other tours will cover planting, pruning and watering of woody plants, in addition to choosing the right varieties for Chico yards.
The arboretum was dedicated in 1982 and includes all the woody plants on campus, encompassing about 225 species of shrubs, vines and trees. Some of the cultivated trees were planted by John Bidwell about 1870 around the mansion and along both sides of Chico Creek. These include American Chestnut, several oaks, and California Incense Cedar. Others date from the founding of the Normal School in 1887; these include the huge London Plane near the entrance of Kendall Hall. Recent plantings include bunya-bunya from Australia, dawn redwood from China, and purple beech from Europe.
Along Big Chico Creek, which runs through campus, is a nature trail with 16 marked sites identifying some of the arboretum plants . This area is being restored to emphasize native California riparian plants such as buttonwillow, white alder, and redbud. A new brochure, Campus Creekside Nature Walk, discusses the importance of these and is available at the student bookstore, Bidwell Mansion, or biology department.
For further information, call CSU at 898-6222 or Wes Dempsey at 342-2293.
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