Carolina Tree Heritage gives new life to green spaces at UNC

It could be any other sunny day — walking to class late, frantically tapping your phone screen to check the time, or walking out of The Meantime Coffee Co., a latte in hand — or it could be your first day of class, waiting in line to take a sip from the Old Well in the hopes that you’ll get a 4.0 your first semester. Maybe you’re in your Carolina Blue cap and gown, beaming, knowing soon you will have graduated college (but maybe not with a 4.0).

Through all these moments that make up a critical four years of your life, Davie Poplar has been there, winding around you and the Old Well — just as it has for the past 300 years.

But walking through campus or lounging under a tree, book in hand, Davie Poplar is just one of many old trees that surround the student body, giving shade and small shutters of light as you considers the possibilities of your future — just as so many Carolina students have.

And while trees are a standing commitment to the past, and to the future, they too have a lifespan — a lifespan that the Carolina Tree Heritage has dedicated itself to expanding, Susan Cohen, partner of the program, said.

“I have a really strong connection with trees and forestry and these big trees, and UNC values them, which is also really special, right?” she said. “They’re really beautiful. They're really iconic.”

Cohen, alongside University arborist Tom Bythell and Michael Everhart, created the program in 2019. Since then, the team has been dedicated to giving new life to trees on campus by recycling them and giving them back to the student body in myriad ways.

Rather than letting the wood rot, students can use the BeAM Makerspace to recycle the wood for small art projects such as making bookmarks and small pens or anything else they can imagine, Bythell said.

“There's no real value other than any of the boards you can buy from Lowe's, but it's Carolina wood,” he said. “We can make something out of it, and somebody can take it with them.”

Bythell has been working at the University for over 25 years and works with University Grounds and Landscaping to make campus a space for serenity and intellect, he said.

“It should be obvious to everybody that we have a lot of passionate people who are doing their jobs, taking care of the grounds, trying to make it as beautiful as they can,” he said.

Student art projects are just one way the wood is repurposed. In 2018, a 251-year-old post oak tree that stood behind Old West died and was used to make a 400-pound table that is now in South Building.

After the post oak was milled, Cohen and the Heritage team were able to look at the tree rings — the spirals inside a tree which indicate the passage of time — and track its history. Upon milling, the team found marks from telegraph wires, as well as bullet hole marks, which Cohen said might have been from students hunting on campus in the past.

Students in UNC professor Jim Hirschfield’s wood sculpting class also use the wood for their étude project, where students learn the tools of the wood-working trade.

As a part of the course, students learn about the milling process through the Heritage Program before selecting the wood they wish to use.

“We use a tree that is tied to the campus, and hopefully, by doing that, the project becomes a little more special for the students,” Hirschfield said.

An étude is a musical composition designed to teach technique — hence the name of the project. Finished projects are now part of a Wilson Library collection, alongside other wood sculptures, until October.

“That's why I like to use [the Carolina wood], to draw on personal feelings about a student's place in time, a student's time in place,” he said.

For Bythell, trees are distinct from other man-made structures, because they are living embodiments of the past, symbolizing and carrying myriad interactions with UNC students, he said.

Cohen said that she hopes UNC students learn to appreciate the trees and all their value — both for making days lounging on Polk Place more comfortable, and for helping to preserve the environment. Trees collect carbon emissions and decrease urban heat levels, she said.

“I think there’s something special about sitting underneath a tree with your friends on campus, and enjoying a really beautiful day, and being on campus, and feeling like you're a part of it," she said. 

@morganmbrenner

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