Volunteers use social distancing to 'Plant the Campus Red' at Austin Peay

(Posted May 11, 2020)

Thirty-four volunteers – students, faculty, staff and Montgomery County Master Gardeners – planted nearly 3,600 plants over four days.

Thirty-four volunteers planted nearly 3,600 plants over four days.

Austin Peay State University’s Plant the Campus Red had its genesis following a natural disaster – the 1999 January tornado that tore through campus.

An army of volunteers moved across campus, planting trees, shrubs and flowers to replace what the tornado had taken. The effort back then was called Operation Restoration.

“That tornado is why campus looks the way it does now, and has such diversity in its tree population,” Wes Powell, APSU assistant director of landscape and grounds, said.

Twenty-one years later, a crisis of a different sort has hit campus, but volunteers still found a way to plant the campus red last week.

“We had a socially distant Plant the Campus Red,” Powell said.

Thirty-four volunteers – students, faculty, staff and Montgomery County Master Gardeners – planted nearly 3,600 plants over four days, he said.

“It was really nice to allow people to get out of their house or dorm rooms and do something normal again,” Powell said.

Plant the Campus Red has happened every spring at Austin Peay since the 1999 tornado.

“It is an all-inclusive volunteer event where faculty, staff, students and the community with the Montgomery County Master Gardeners all have a chance to volunteer together,” Powell said. “That’s one of my favorite parts about it. And it brightens up campus for the spring.”

News Feed

View All News

APSU's Full Spectrum Learning marks 10 years with Autism Awareness Week

Austin Peay State University's Full Spectrum Learning program celebrates its 10th anniversary with Autism Awareness Week events April 13-18. Free and open to the public, the week features workshops, a student showcase, a forum, and an anniversary celebration honoring a decade of supporting neurodiverse students.

APSU inducts largest first-year class into Alpha Lambda Delta in over a decade

Austin Peay State University's chapter of the Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society recently inducted 143 first-year students during a ceremony in Clement Auditorium, marking the largest cohort since 2014.

APSU Board of Trustees to meet April 10

The Austin Peay State University Board of Trustees will host its quarterly meetings on Friday, April 10, at the O'Malley Family Welcome Center, beginning with committee sessions at 8:15 a.m. followed by a full board meeting.