By Amelia
On the afternoon of Thursday, June 20th, the entire Tree Team drove to the campus of Southern Virginia University to walk through sections of campus with Professor Sam Hirt. Even though we were there to have a "Community Conversation" with Professor Hirt – meaning that we would explain BV Cool Trees and see what his interest was in tree-planting – Professor Hirt was actually a tree expert as well.
Professor Hirt has been teaching courses on topics including biology and bioethics at SVU for 8 years. He received his bachelor's degree in biology, and later earned his master's and doctoral degrees in ecology. On that hot afternoon, Professor Hirt toured the BV Tree Team around the SVU campus and talked about different tree species on the grounds. He also described his hop to plant more trees on the big hill in front of SVU. He would like to turn that area into a small arboretum, including paths and benches for people to sit, enjoy, and appreciate the trees. Professor Hirt also expressed his interest in replacing the row of Bradford Pears that line the road leading up to the college with native trees.
It was exciting to speak with someone who is so knowledgable and passionate about trees and who is also very enthusiastic about the BV Cool Trees project. We are looking forward to seeing the tree transformation at SVU over the coming years.
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