Students, volunteers, professors from university plant orchard at Fairview Suites
LAURA JAMESON/THE EXPRESS From left, Penn West University-California Professor Dr. Sarah Meiss, Lock Haven Professor Dr. Heather Bechtold, Shippensburg University Professor Dr. Nathan Thomas and Cem Akin of The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation, pose for a photo.
LAURA JAMESON/THE EXPRESS Lock Haven Professor Dr. Heather Bechtold helps two student volunteers clear a spot for one of 40 fruit trees at Fairview Suites on campus.
LAURA JAMESON/THE EXPRESS Three Lock Haven University students work together to clear grass away to plant one of 40 fruit trees at Fairview Suites on campus.
LAURA JAMESON/THE EXPRESS From left, Penn West University-California Professor Dr. Sarah Meiss, Lock Haven Professor Dr. Heather Bechtold, Shippensburg University Professor Dr. Nathan Thomas and Cem Akin of The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation, pose for a photo.
LAURA JAMESON/THE EXPRESS Lock Haven Professor Dr. Heather Bechtold helps two student volunteers clear a spot for one of 40 fruit trees at Fairview Suites on campus.
LAURA JAMESON/THE EXPRESS Three Lock Haven University students work together to clear grass away to plant one of 40 fruit trees at Fairview Suites on campus.
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LOCK HAVEN -- Tucked away in Lock Haven University's (Commonwealth University-Lock Haven) Fairview Suites courtyard, an army of student volunteers were creating something everlasting.
Through a collaboration with Shippensburg University, California University (Penn West-California), Millersville and the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation, 40 fruit trees -- apple, pear, cherry, plum and peach -- were planted in the courtyard Wednesday.
"It's a perfect day to plant fruit trees," FTPF Executive Director Cem Akin said.
Akin provided a demonstration at the start of the day, noting the perfect overcast and moderate temperatures, for planting.
Akin briefly spoke about his organization and what it does. FTPF is a world wide organization that helps plant fruit trees internationally and at home.
In the previous year, Akin said FTPF was able to plant about 150,000 trees in seven countries.
"We go to the most amazing places," he said. Some of the projects include Fruit Tree 101 and Trees for Tribes.
These trees are gifts or donations, including the ones at LHU.
Akin said the project began with Penn West-California and university professor Dr. Sarah Meiss. After planting an orchard of 40 trees there, they soon partnered with Shippensburg University -- Dr. Nathan Thomas coordinated efforts there.
Now, Lock Haven is the latest university to benefit from this program -- made possible thanks to grant funding.
"We truly believe in the magic of planting fruit trees. We leave a legacy when we plant these trees. Not just for us, but for our children and grandchildren," Akin said.
Biology Professor, Dr. Heather Bechtold, coordinated efforts here at LHU.
Bechtold said efforts to get the orchard up and running took roughly a year and a half.
"It's been about 18 months. COVID kind of pushed it back. But we got back on track," she said.
Prior to Akin's demonstration, Bechtold thanked the dozen or so students for their efforts. She noted that others planned to attend the all-day planting, too.
"I know you're managing a lot…classes and practices. So I really appreciate you taking the time to be here," Bechtold said.
Bechtold gave Meiss the opportunity to speak as well.
Meiss noted that she and her fellow professors hope to spread the initiative to all 14 of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education's campuses.
She thanked the students for volunteering as well. She stressed how important programs like this one are for the community.
"It's food and it's trees and it's community. You're adding so many things with these," she said.
Just like at California and Shippensburg, any fruits that are grown in the orchard will be donated to the Haven Cupboard -- the university's food pantry.
"To me, food is something that shouldn't be a privilege and this is a way to combat that," Meiss said.
Thomas played off of Meiss's comments regarding community. He noted that each orchard planted is similar to the one placed in Lock Haven.
"It's planted by students and community members for the community," he said.
Following Akin's demonstration, students grabbed shovels and rakes and got straight to work -- pairing off into groups to get the trees planted.
Once complete, Bechtold said she would take charge of ensuring the orchard is cared for.
Other professors who assisted Wednesday included biology professors, Dr. Steven Seiler and Dr. Barrie Overton.