Campus Arboretum Tours Start October 6
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 27, 2004
Kathleen McPartland
530-898-4260
Wes Dempsey
530-342-2293
Campus Arboretum Tours Start October 6
A series of free tours of the trees and plants of the California State University, Chico campus arboretum will be available on five Wednesdays, starting Oct. 6. The easy walks will start at 11 a.m. in front of Kendall Hall, the administration building.
Additional tours will be offered every two weeks thereafter, on Oct. 20, Nov. 3, Nov. 17 and Dec. 1. Each tour will cover a different part of campus with as little repetition as possible. The walks are free and 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 example of each kind of tree. It is available for $2 at the Associated Students Bookstore, Bidwell Mansion and the biological sciences 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. Guides will also point out any plants blooming at the time of the tour. Other tours will cover planting, pruning and watering of woody plants and 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 and vines as well as trees. John Bidwell planted some of the cultivated trees around 1870 near the mansion and along both sides of Chico Creek. These include American chestnut, several oaks and California incense cedar.
Others trees date from the founding of the Normal School in 1887and still exist in front of Kendall Hall; these include the huge London plane near the entrance. Recent plantings include bunya-bunya from Australia, dawn redwood from China and purple beech from Europe.
A nature trail with 16 marked sites identifying some of the arboretum plants follows Big Chico Creek, which runs through the middle of campus. 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,” pictures and discusses the importance of these and is available for fifty cents at the A.S. Bookstore, Bidwell Mansion or the biological sciences department.
For further information, call Gary Veracruse at 530-898-6222 or Wes Dempsey at 530-342-2293.
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