A local effort to restore the Centennial Arboretum on the SUNY Oswego campus seeks help from the public in advance of a planned tree-planting effort at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 23.
In 1961, the Centennial Arboretum was dedicated to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the founding of the Oswego Primary Teachers' Training School -- the forerunner of SUNY Oswego -- by Edward Austin Sheldon. Southeast of Lonis-Moreland Hall on the corner of Washington Boulevard and Sheldon Avenue, a dawn redwood tree and several other specimen trees were planted through the generous donations of over 70 community and college patrons including businesses, labor unions and service organizations. A large brass plaque marks the occasion on the east wall of Moreland Hall, when it was among the first residence halls and one of only a handful of college buildings.
As part of an effort to restore the arboretum, SUNY Oswego's Rice Creek Field Station and Sustainability Office, in collaboration with the Oswego Tree Stewards, are asking anyone from the college staff or alumni and the Oswego community who has information about the Centennial Arboretum to share that information with the Centennial Arboretum committee. If you have any memories, photographs or documentation regarding the Centennial Arboretum, contact Kate Spector at katherine.spector@oswego.edu.
The Centennial Arboretum Project is currently scoping the site and identifying trees to plant to repopulate and resurrect the Centennial Arboretum. If you or your organization is interested in participating in the project, email katherine.spector@oswego.edu. Community participants interested in volunteering with the Oswego Tree Stewards should email Phil MacArthur at philnjune67@gmail.com or call 315-532-0909.
The rain date for planting, if necessary, is 10 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 24.