EDMOND — The campus of Oklahoma Christian University received a special delivery Oct. 21 with the arrival of 1,300 trees. The generous donation comes out of a partnership between the Tree Bank Foundation and the Apache Foundation.
Most of the donated trees will line the planned walking trails that will encompass the campus and connect with the trails in the city of Edmond. The 1,300 trees will be of five different varieties. Students, faculty and staff took part in unloading and planting the trees on campus.
Pendelton Woods, who serves as the director of the American Citizenship Center at OC, was an integral part of securing the donation for the university. Woods has served as a member of the Tree Bank Board for the past 15 years. He says the Tree Bank has a reputation for planting strong trees that live a long time.
“The Tree Bank does a wonderful job of promoting the care and planting of trees,” Woods said. “They have played major roles in restoring lost landscapes by the replanting of trees following ice storms and tornados.”
The Tree Bank Foundation has donated tens of thousands of trees and averages between 70 and 90 new projects each year.
The Apache Foundation has also made a great impact in the arena of tree planting and donation. The charitable arm of the Apache Corporation based in Houston, the foundation has planted more than one million trees since 2006 across 14 states.
“We are extremely grateful to both the Tree Bank Foundation and the Apache Foundation for this generous donation of trees,” said Dr. Mike O’Neal, Oklahoma Christian president. “These trees will be enjoyed for many decades by our students and our neighbors in the community who use the walking trail.”
For more information on the Tree Bank Foundation visit www.thetreebank.org. For more information on the Apache Foundation visit www.apachecorp.com.
