Campus Celebrates Earth Day with Tree Planting

On a tiny section of Trinity’s 60-acre campus, students, faculty, and staff gathered around a young Kentucky Coffeetree being planted in honor of Earth Day.

Prayers were offered, Psalms were read, and the song “Earth is Gift of God’s Creation” was sung as the tree was set in place.

The words of the song written by Edith Sinclair Downing capture the essence of Trinity’s Earth Day celebration and the campus’s commitment to be good stewards of the God’s creation.

Tending space within earth’s garden,
Honoring the future there,
We can serve with God as partners,
A community of care.

The tree was donated to the College by Dr. Laurel Quinn, professor of nursing, and her husband Bill, owner of William Quinn and Sons, Inc. in Alsip, Illinois.

Although native to the area, this species is rare and only the second of its kind on Trinity’s campus, which boasts many varieties, all of which have been painstakingly mapped out by Dr. Frank Hensley, professor of biology, and the Campus Ecological Stewardship Advisory Group.

According to Hensley, the Kentucky Coffeetree is fast-growing and reaches a height of approximately 70 feet, making it an excellent canopy tree. For several months of the year, however, the tree can appear to be dead as this species is the last to sprout leaves each spring.