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Media Advisory: UB Students, Faculty and Community Members to Plant Dozens of Trees Along New UB Solar Strand
Release Date: October 21, 2011 This content is archived.
Members of the public will join University at Buffalo students, staff and faculty on the UB North Campus on Sunday (Oct. 23) to plant dozens of trees adjacent to the Solar Strand, the massive solar array under construction along Flint Road.
The tree-planting will begin at 9 a.m. on land next to the Center for Tomorrow parking lot on Flint Road between Maple Road and John James Audubon Parkway in Amherst. (The parking lot is just north of building No. 53 in the purple section of this map: http://www.buffalo.edu/buildings/maps/NorthCampus.pdf.)
More than 100 volunteers have signed up to take part in the event. Together, they will plant dozens of northern catalpa and autumn blaze maple trees that are about 15- to 20-feet tall, along with serviceberry and common witchhazel plants that rise to 4 or 5 feet.
These species were hand-selected by Walter Hood, the renowned landscape artist and architect who designed the Solar Strand, a project funded by the New York Power Authority. The trees will complement the 3,200-panel array, which will serve as a vibrant and attractive new gateway to the campus.
The tree-planting is the first of many events that will enable the public to take advantage of the Solar Strand as a community resource. Once the array is up and running, visitors will be able to walk among the panels and enjoy various educational activities associated with installation.
Community organizations supporting the tree-planting include Re-Tree WNY, which has provided information and trainers, and Keep Western New York Beautiful, which is supplying shovels and rakes.
The Western New York State Nursery and Landscape Association assisted UB and Hood in selecting plant species that would grow well at the selected location. The trees are from Schichtel's Nursery.
Media Arrangements: Contact Charlotte Hsu in the Office of University Communications at 510-388-1831.
Related Stories:
Construction Under Way on UB's "Solar Strand": http://www.buffalo.edu/ubreporter/2011_08_25/solar_array
Media Contact Information
Charlotte Hsu is a former staff writer in University Communications. To contact UB's media relations staff, email ub-news@buffalo.edu or visit our list of current university media contacts.
