"Where stately oaks and broad magnolias shade inspiring halls, There stands our dear Old Alma Mater, who to us recalls ..." These familiar words immortalize one of the most recognizable campus symbols as more than 12,000 live oak trees continue growing across the campus they shade. Only a few oaks - some 80 years old - pre-date the first construction of the University's campus. These aging symbols - planted to line streets, fill the Quad and outline the Parade Ground - need upkeep and care that comes with a hefty price tag. The LSU Foundation preserves and protects these oaks' longevity with the help of donors willing to pony up as much as $50,000 to endow an oak in the Quad. "Particular trees mean particular things to certain people," said LSU Foundation Public Relations Director Scott Madere. "It could be your tailgating spot, the place where you met your wife or the spot where you and your buddies used to hang out here on campus. For every person, there is a particular spot on campus that's dear to them, and there's an oak tree right there." Tiger tailgaters and love-struck students wishing to mark the oak standing in their memories with a plaque pay $10,000 for an oak on the Parade Ground or $4,000 for an oak elsewhere on campus. When an oak is endowed, the donor has the opportunity to have a small ceremony with friends and family, Madere said. The money is put into a general endowment fund from which earnings pay for care of all oaks on campus, not just that endowed tree. Half of the donation goes into the Oak Endowment, and the other half goes into an account that can be used immediately to oversee campus oaks. There are 249 endowed oaks on campus. Madere said he doubts every oak will be endowed, but said he is pleased with the progress being made. These trees are endowed for a number of reasons. The most recent Oak was endowed by friends and coworkers of Chandrasekhar Komma and Kiran Allam to memorialize the victims of the Dec. 13 on-campus double homicide. Their tree stands outside the Life Sciences Annex, where the two doctoral students taught, learned and researched. Retired Exxon Mobil Executive Vice President and Director Harry Longwell recently donated $190,000 to honor family members with seven oaks across campus. Facility Services manager and arborist Richard Humphreys said the LSU Foundation's "Endow an Oak" program funds additional care and protection of oaks on campus. Humphreys said he strives to keep the oaks functioning with the world around them - pruning branches with traffic clearances and lighting obstructions in mind and monitoring for dying branches over walkways and parking areas. Trimming also ensures the trees' resources - light and water - are not limited. All campus oaks were conservatively appraised at $36 million when Humphreys first came to the University 10 years ago, he said. Today, the trees are worth more than $50 million, Humphreys estimated. He monitors root systems across campus and ensures construction sites - such as the Student Union renovations - do not affect the roots of nearby oaks. Live oaks were popular shade trees when most were planted on campus in the 1930s, Humphreys said. The oaks were planted along streets, but other species are used closer to buildings and as filler to prevent the rapid spread of inter-species tree diseases. Humphreys and his team are indexing the campus oaks to more closely monitor them, keep record of maintenance and track each tree's history for health reasons. The oaks are monitored in campus zones governed by road beds. Every oak is given a number and code specifying its location. Arborist William Anderpont is building a Web site indexing every campus oak. He spent about four months, as a student, measuring more than 12,000 oaks. He said he hopes to add a picture of every tree as well as detailed history of the tree's damage and care to the site. Anderpont said the online index is beneficial to quantify issues stunting the oaks' growth, such as lightning. He said once the site is complete, the publicity will help secure endowment funding. This surveying of the oaks has helped determine which trees need support braces, Humphreys said. The endowments have provided funds to install lightning protection systems on many of the larger oaks on campus. But installing such lightning protection for only 20 percent of the oaks on campus will cost about $400,000, which cannot be afforded until more trees are endowed, Humphreys said.
As the campus grows and expands, more oaks will be added, Humphreys said. Because the University is constantly building and always changing, Humphreys said he considers the investment of growing and planting young trees on developing sites.
Planting these trees now, before the campus grows further, costs $200 per planting, Humphreys said. In 10 years, each tree planted will be worth $10,000.
Trees will soon be planted lining the sidewalks around the old golf course across Nicholson Drive toward the levee, where campus is continuing to expand with the construction of the new Alex Box stadium.
"I consider myself very fortunate to be in a situation where I'm working with trees where there is a recognition that they contribute to the image of the University," Humphreys said. "LSU would be a lot less appealing to come to school to or to work at if all the trees were gone."
---- Contact Nicholas Persac at npersac@lsureveille.com
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