Trees honor Dirr
Sep 1, 2010 by Around the Arch
Owner Craig Rice of Tree Spaders of Greenville, S.C., waters a Willow Oak tree on Greek Park Circle on East Campus that was planted as part of the Select Sustainable Tree Trust. Rice bought a used fire truck and uses it as his irrigation vehicle.
More than 200 shade trees donated to UGA by the Select Sustainable Tree Trust—the first of up 1,000 trees the Watkinsville-based trust has pledged to UGA—are in honor of the late Susy Dirr (ABJ ’99), who died from cystic fibrosis in 2008. Dirr was the daughter of UGA horticulturist Michael Dirr. Over the next 10 years, the trust, formed in 2009, plans to plant as many as 1,000 trees on the UGA campus. UGA alumni partnered with Select Trees, a nursery in Oconee County, to found the trust and gave $1 million to pay for the re-greening. The UGA grounds department is responsible for planting and monitoring the donated trees. They expect to add about 200 shade trees next year, including oaks, dogwoods, maples and magnolias. Get more information at www.selectsustainabletreetrust.org.
Tagged: uga, university of georgia, select sustainable tree trust, shade trees, select sustainableplus trees, campus trees, regreening campus, suzy dirr, michael dirr, honorary tree planting