Over the past five years, the landscaping team at Mississippi State University has planted more than 2,000 trees as part of a campus beautification and outdoor environment optimization campaign.
From native hardwoods to decorative flowering species, the varied tree plantings are creating and enhancing shaded spaces for students, faculty, and visitors at the Starkville campus. In recognition of these efforts, Mississippi State has been tabbed a “Tree Campus Higher Education institution” by the Arbor Foundation for 12 consecutive years.
“With every tree we plant, we’re thinking 20, 30, even 50 years into the future,” Saunders Ramsey, executive director of Campus Services at MSU, said. “It’s about creating a landscape now that future generations of Bulldogs can also enjoy—places to walk, study, gather, and connect with nature.”
This summer, as Mississippi has experienced a severe heat wave, the benefits of the trees have been noticeable to those on campus. Trees reduce rising ground temperatures and cool shaded areas by as much as 10 degrees, while offering additional value.
“Trees do so much more than provide shade,” Jim Bo Hearnsberger, associate director of MSU Campus Landscape, said. “They clean the air we breathe, help manage stormwater, create habitats for wildlife, and reduce energy use by cooling buildings and sidewalks. It’s a lasting return on investment for the entire campus community.”
Hearnsberger’s team is reported to carefully select and place trees to maximize impact, focusing on high-traffic walkways, gathering areas, parking lots, and new developments, with an emphasis on places where shade, beauty, and comfort matter most.
One of those places is the university’s newest green space — McCarthy Quad. Opening this fall, adjacent to the new Jim and Thomas Duff Center, the space will feature a mix of nearly 50 newly-planted Nuttall and Willow Oak trees. The university has also added, in recent years, new trees along the College View connector, around Chadwick Lake, and at Partnership Middle School as part of annual Arbor Day celebrations.
