Arbor Day Celebration
April 24, 2009
Washington College students, faculty, staff, and guests celebrated Arbor Day by dedicating a new tree on the Campus Green. The Sweet Bay Magnolia—a rare species—was planted on the west lawn between Bunting and William Smith Halls. Following the dedication, Holly Shimizu, the Executive Director for the United States Botanic Garden, gave the fourth lecture in the Virginia Gent Decker Arboretum series, "Garden as a Sanctuary," a presentation on historic United States gardens.
Click to enlarge photos by Kris Kelley '11.

A small crowd gathers to help dedicate the new tree to the Campus Lawn.

Opening remarks and dedication by W. Alton Jones Professor Emeritus
Frank Creegan.

Professor Emeritus
Frank Creegan gives a brief history of the Sweet Bay Magnolia.

As a Virginia Gent Decker Arboretum Board Member Kathryn Meehan, commemorated this occasion with a poem, "Trees of the Fragrant Forest" by Henry Cuyler Bunner.

Professor Creegan and Holly Shimizu reveal the tree and its placard.