MOUNT VERNON – Students, faculty and staff at Mount Vernon Nazarene University are invited to care for creation through an invasive species removal project. Creation Care Service Day will be held Saturday, Nov. 5, starting with a liturgy service at 1 p.m. in the Barn. The campus community is invited to attend and participate.
Due to an Ohio Department of Agriculture ban, a row of Callery pear trees on the campus will be removed in preparation for future beautification plans.
Two MVNU groups will work together on the project – the Justice Project and the Tree Campus Advisory Committee. Students will learn how to remove the trees effectively and operate equipment safely with the guidance of the Facilities department.
“This service day is a wonderful opportunity for our campus to participate in the important work of caring for the natural landscape of our campus,” said Tim Radcliffe, Chair of the Campus Tree Advisory Committee and Director of the Library. “The Justice Project’s leadership in this effort will not only protect campus trees from invasive species, it will also encourage practices of stewardship that seek flourishing for our community and its environment.”
“The Justice Project hosts talks and events that bring awareness to many of the injustices our world faces and how we can advocate for those enduring those injustices,” said Kiera “K.J.” Jones, Justice Project Coordinator and member of the Tree Campus Advisory Committee. “This project is the perfect way to bring the Justice Project and the MVNU student body into a space they may not have known existed.”
Volunteers will meet at the Barn at 1 p.m. for a short liturgy service before clearing the tree sites. Tools and gear will be provided.
Callery pear has invasive traits that enable it to spread aggressively. Due to its resiliency and the ability to cross-pollinate, a University of Cincinnati biologist found in 2019 that the trees were crowding out and eliminating native plants.
The Ohio Department of Agriculture will ban the sale, purchase and planting of all Callery pear trees and add them to the state’s official list of invasive plants in January 2023. The new rule will not affect trees planted or sold before January, according to the department’s website, but MVNU wants to be proactive in removing the species before any damage to other plants occurs.
For more information on the Tree Campus Advisory Committee, visit mvnu.edu/treecampus.
Mount Vernon Nazarene University is a private, four-year, intentionally Christian teaching university for traditional-age students, graduate students, and working adults. With a 327-acre main campus in Mount Vernon, Ohio, MVNU emphasizes academic excellence, spiritual growth, and service to the community and church. MVNU offers an affordable education both in-seat and online to more than 2,100 students from 42 states and nine foreign countries.
