Good Roots grant sows beauty, helps revive classic American tree at Alabama community college
The Gadsden State Community College campus has been beautified through the planting of 11 new chestnut trees, added to the campus in February. Thirteen GSCC staff and volunteers helped with the work, funded by a Good Roots Grant from the Alabama Power Foundation. Dr. Teresa Rhea, retired GSCC dean of Enrollment and Retention, said that in addition to fostering the revival of this classic American tree, the attractive outdoor spaces will enhance students' learning experience. (GSCC)
Springtime is more beautiful at Gadsden State Community College (GSCC) this year, thanks to a Good Roots grant from the Alabama Power Foundation.
Eleven small American chestnut trees grace the entryway of the GSCC campus, compliments of the Good Roots program and plantings in February by members of the college’s Good Roots committee. The saplings, produced at a nursery in northern Georgia, are growing well.
“So far, they’re all thriving. We are excited,” said Teresa Rhea, retired dean of Enrollment and Retention at GSCC. She helped with the project, an extension of the GSCC’s Green Space Project. The work is part of the college’s conservation efforts to reintroduce the species, once prevalent throughout the country.
American chestnut trees became nearly extinct after a blight devastated chestnut forests across the Appalachian Mountains and beyond. In the early 1900s, up to 4 million chestnut trees grew in the Eastern U.S. That was until a fungal disease – suspected to have been accidentally imported from Asia – was spotted on a chestnut tree in New York Botanical Garden in 1904.
“One of the things we’ve focused on at Gadsden State the past several years is on developing green spaces,” said Rhea, a Gadsden resident. “They provide attractive outdoor spaces and gathering spots, and a welcoming, homelike environment for students to gather.”
Jack Agricola, past president of the local American Chestnut Foundation, advised the GSCC team about how to prepare the soil for planting. He helped select an area on campus similar to the trees’ natural habitat – with soil that drains well – as well ensuring the planting didn’t obscure rights of way, power lines or underground utilities.
TurfWorx, a regional lawn and landscaping company, donated labor and use of a large auger for digging.
“The chestnut is a heritage tree that came to prominence in the mid-19th century with Abraham Lincoln splitting chestnut logs for a fence line,” Agricola said. “The chestnut has long been the tree of choice.”
Rhea said the work is a continuation of what began at GSCC in 2018, when the college received its first Good Roots award. Committee members planted seven red maples originating from mature trees at Walden Woods, the Concord, Massachusetts, area beloved by writer Henry David Thoreau. The team added five dogwoods from the estate of Alvin York, a World War II Medal of Honor recipient.
Kelly Pearce, associate dean for Retention and Enrollment at Gadsden State, was happy to help in the planting.
“This shows a commitment to our landscape, to Mother Earth and also to our students,” said Pearce, a board member of Longleaf Botanical Gardens in Anniston. “As our students drive through, it shows them that we want to provide them with a nice learning environment.
“It’s a great partnership with the Alabama Power Foundation and a great opportunity to invest in the community,” she added. “This is a welcoming sight on our campus.”
Tequila Smith, vice president of Charitable Giving at Alabama Power and vice president of the Alabama Power Foundation, said the company is thrilled to help in supporting green spaces throughout the state through the Good Roots grant program.
“By providing grants to cities, towns and communities to plant trees and support beautification efforts, the Alabama Power Foundation and our Good Roots partners are helping keep Alabama beautiful and vibrant,” Smith said.
Rhea is proud that all the saplings planted three years ago have survived. The trees will provide a gathering place between the language arts building and the Beck Conference Center.
She looks forward to seeing the chestnut saplings grow into majestic trees.
“This a grand addition to the college entrance at the Wallace Drive Campus,” Rhea said. “Over the course of the next 30 years, we hope that the chestnut trees will provide shade and habitat for wildlife. We are appreciative of the Alabama Power Foundation and the Good Roots program for the opportunity to partner in this important conservation effort.”
