Rose-Hulman News

     Rose-Hulman began a weekend of tree-planting on  Indiana's Arbor Day with a ceremony in front of Hadley Hall. After a proclamation marking Rose-Hulman's commitment to the arbor life on and around the Rose-Hulman campus, President Matt Branam introduced Bill Kincius, an arborist and landscape architect. "Most of our commitment to [our trees] is personified in Bill," said Branam of the former Terre Haute City Forester. Kincius oversaw the planting of sixty-five trees around the city of Terre Haute in 2009 and so he was well-prepared for the tree-planting that occurred on campus Saturday, April 30.

     Rose-Hulman students volunteered their time to help plant the 100 trees, and Kincius has promised to continue adding trees to the campus landscape, using practices that consider the woods and wetlands  surrounding Rose-Hulman's campus. Kincius has been outspoken against the practice of topping trees, and in a meeting of the newly implemented Campus Tree Advisory Committee he explained how the practice makes the new growth brittle, which is not just unhealthy for the tree, but can become a safety hazard. Branam said that Rose-Hulman is lucky to have Kincius on board as the school looks forward to a healthy, sustainable expansion of the green growth.