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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 19, 2023

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GLENVILLE, WV – On Wednesday, April 5, students, faculty, and staff in ����ֱ��’s Department of Land Resources participated in the planting of 500 trees on and around the Sycamore Run property known as the College Forest. The space is utilized by students studying Natural Resource Management at ����ֱ�� State.

The planting event was made possible by the West Virginia State University (WVSU) Research and Development Corporation and their partnership with Diversified Energy to help the gas and oil production company plant back trees that they removed for pipeline construction.

“Diversified Energy approached WVSU Research and Development Corporation last year seeking a partner to help them plant back trees they had removed to extend a pipeline in Wyoming County. They were originally looking to plant 5,000 trees and WVSU proposed planting 10,000,” said Elizabeth Moss, a Natural Resources Extension Educator with the West Virginia State University Extension Service Agriculture and Natural Resources Division. “When it is all said and done, WVSU and partners will have planted 10,263 trees in the state of West Virginia. Over 7,000 of these trees are being planted by FFA chapters across the state, lending to an educational component with this project and engaging students in forestry practices.”

Thanks to a connection made by GSU Natural Resource Management student Corey Foster, ����ֱ�� State was also able to participate in a campus tree planting.

“Corey is a WV Tree Minders intern with the WVSU Extension Service Agriculture and Natural Resources Division and he helped put together the planting that took place at ����ֱ��. It is through the help of partners like Corey that we are able to get so many trees in the ground,” Moss added.

Students in the Timber Harvesting Techniques class at ����ֱ�� State cleared an invasive woody shrub, Autumn Olive, from a site on the College Forest last fall, helping to make way for the saplings.

“These trees will provide hard and soft mast for wildlife, seeds for birds, help shade Sycamore Run, and store carbon,” said ����ֱ�� State’s Associate Professor of Forestry, Dr. Brian Perkins. “A number of different trees species were planted including Red Oak, Chestnut Oak, Sweet Gum, White Pine, Virginia Pine, Pin Oak, River Birch, and Red Mulberry.”

The trees, once planted, were protected with tubes to prevent deer browsing during the first few years of growth. The invasive species, such as Autumn Olive and Stilt grass, will be controlled on the site to allow the trees to grow into a young forest.

“The regeneration of forests has become more challenging in recent decades due to the presence of invasive species and an overpopulation of deer. So, planting and protecting these trees will ensure that future generations have a forest to enjoy and benefit from,” Perkins added.