Mount Saint Mary College Chemistry and Biology students researched the trees in the City of Newburgh, so the city can best plan how it will plant new trees.
Throughout the fall semester, Mount Saint Mary College first-year students in the Natural Sciences assisted the Greater Newburgh Parks Conservancy’s (GNPC) tree planting initiative through a tree identification project.
Spearheaded by Lynn Maelia, professor of Chemistry and Chair of the Division of Natural Sciences, and Suparna Bhalla, associate professor of Biology, the project has been woven into their First-Year Experience (FYE) learning community, and continues the research that students began last year.
“We wanted to use trees as our FYE theme to get students to think about trees in ways they never did before: the advantages, the biodiversity, the importance for the ecosystem, and the environmental justice associated with trees,” explained Maelia.
The professors created a community-based learning event with their FYE classes, focusing on surveying the trees, or lack thereof. Spanning both Biological and Chemical Principles courses, the project provides data for the GNPC’s tree planting initiative.
In the Chemical Principles class, students went to several sites along Chambers Street and Grand Street where the Parks Conservancy was planning to plant some trees. They collected soil samples, and brought them back to the lab for testing, a process they had previously learned in class.
Meanwhile, in Biological Principles, students assessed the tree situation within the same area. They looked at existing trees: identifying the tree species, measuring the circumference, estimating the height, and measuring the proximity to various objects. Through this information, they assessed whether the existing trees were appropriately placed.
Biology students also assessed locations on street lawns where new trees could be planted, measuring the spaces and proximity to existing corners, signs, and utilities. They went on to make recommendations for what trees should be planted, taking the size of the tree and the desire for biodiversity into consideration.
Students in both courses have entered the data into a spreadsheet, which will be shared with the GNPC to assist in their efforts to plant trees for future generations and caring for the trees already planted.