Missouri University of Science and Technology has 2,247 trees spread across its 236-acre campus. That’s the finding from a recent tree inventory conducted using funds from a $10,000 Tree Resource Improvement and Maintenance (TRIM) grant from the Missouri Department of Conservation.

To conduct the tree inventory, Missouri S&T custodial and landscape services department worked with Davey Resource Group, an experienced urban forestry consulting firm. The group mapped every tree on campus, identified its species, evaluated its condition and projected its lifespan. S&T staff will now take all of the information and recommendations and implement them into an ongoing maintenance program.

“A good maintenance program will help us prioritize the work load and keep our trees in the best possible health throughout the stages of growth,” Ed Dunn, Missouri S&T landscape designer and arborist. “The trees were given an updated value as part of the inventory and this is important because it helps with reimbursements when trees are damaged or removed.”

The inventory found that 21 percent of the campus’s trees are oak. Eight percent are sweet gum, 8 percent are pine, 7 percent are juniper, 7 percent are crabapple, 5 percent are redbud and 44 percent fall in the “other” category.

The size of the campus’s trees was also evaluated. The majority fall in the medium-size category (7-24 inches in diameter). Forty percent are small (6 inches or fewer in diameter), 7 percent are large (25 inches and greater in diameter).

“The analysis of the inventory states that the campus has a diverse number of species of trees that are fair to good in condition,” Dunn says. “Through good record keeping and proper maintenance practices, a good healthy tree population will be maintained and both the campus and the community will benefit.”