Hannibal-LaGrange University will hold an Arbor Day Celebration on Friday, April 19 at 2 pm near the Roland Library on HLGU’s campus. HLGU’s Arbor Day Celebration is open to the public.
Two alumni, Ruth Ihrig Foreman ’49 and Dorothy Sisson ’58, will be honored by the planting of two river birch trees on campus. These women supported Hannibal-LaGrange during their lifetime through financial gifts, by referring students to campus, and through prayer. They are great examples of the rich legacy of HLGU.
As its name suggests, the river birch naturally grows along riverbanks. But as a landscape tree, it can be planted almost anywhere in the U.S. The species is valued for its relatively rapid growth, tolerance of wetness and some drought, unique curling bark, spreading limbs, brilliant yellow fall color, and relative resistance to birch borer.
Planting trees on HLGU’s campus has been a longtime tradition as a Tree Campus Higher Education institution.
Tree Campus Higher Education is a national program created in 2008 by the Arbor Day Foundation to honor colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and to engage staff and students in conservation goals. HLGU achieved this title by meeting recognition standards including student service-learning projects.