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Falling in love with shady characters

Anyone who has been “tree blind” before should cruise campus for a quick tutorial on Wisconsin’s native species. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of many, including Students for an Environmentally Active Campus, the university is planting a greener landscape.

When finished, campus will showcase the state’s entire native collection of 63 tree and shrub species.

“We now have 34 of the 51 tree species native to the state,” says Dr. Gail Schumann, a plant pathologist in the Department of Biological Sciences who helped coordinate the initiative.

Native trees are more likely to thrive in the soil and climate conditions found on campus, she explains.

Schumann was recruited to this work — it may be more accurate to say she was drafted — by Rev. Harold Bradley, S.J., who worked in the Office of Public Affairs until his death in 2009. Father Bradley envisioned campus as an urban oasis, a place where city kids could see the differences and beauty of all of Wisconsin’s native trees. His vision took root.

Schumann has a few favorites in the campus collection, including a sugar maple planted in Father Bradley’s memory and the quaking aspen, which flickers with light as its leaves rustle in a light breeze. “The musclewood also sticks out, with smooth gray bark and protruding veins that make it look like a muscular limb,” she says. “I also love the tamarack, a conifer that loses its needles in the winter after turning a dazzling gold in the fall.”

Planting native trees is a priority in landscaping for new building sites and replacing old trees, according to the Office of the University Architect.

“With their support and the involvement of SEAC and the Office of Sustainability, I believe we will see Father Bradley’s dream through,” Schumann says. — AB