Did you know that there are 5 miles of hiking, running and mountain biking trails surrounding campus?
According to ETSU’s Department of Sustainability, not many students do. That is why they are holding events to encourage students to get out and enjoy nature, especially the 30 acres of trees directly behind campus.
The University Woods and Trail System have been years in the making. The woods, which have been home to biology classes, ROTC, and mountain bikers and hikers galore, were considered for development almost 10 years ago by the university.
The plans to develop the woods into retired faculty housing were soon halted when a group of concerned students brought it to the attention of the ETSU community that the woods were valuable and should not be destroyed.
In March 2018, Joan Maloof, Professor Emeritus at Salisbury University and founder of the Old Growth Forest Network, gave a public lecture and then surveyed the woods, which she identified as a significant forest with some trees that are over 300 years old. Soon after, an ad hoc faculty and staff committee to protect the woods was created and presented their proposal to President Noland on April 24, 2019, who agreed and set in place a dedication ceremony to commemorate the occasion.
In addition to this asset being protected at the ETSU campus, the Department of Sustainability has also been working hard to get students interested in nature.
“There are many issues that students can make an impact with,” said Kathleen Moore, ETSU’s Director of Sustainability. “We are looking to Project Drawdown, a collaboration between scientists from all over the world, who came up with 100 practical solutions to combat climate change.”
Meditation walks through the University Woods are scheduled for the first Thursday of every month, with the next walk being held Thursday, Oct. 3, from noon to 1 p.m. Students can meet at the gazebo in parking lot 13, located below Buccaneer Ridge.
“This semester, we are working on land protection and especially protecting forests because they are the lungs of our earth,” Moore said. “We want students to get out into our woods and realize the wonderful benefits, so they will want to protect it too.”
