UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Golf Courses recently entered into a partnership with the Office of the Physical Plant (OPP) and the Sustainability Institute (SI) who will advise them on the removal of 300-400 dead and dying trees. The partnership, necessitated by safety concerns such as dead and falling limbs, will keep sustainability at the forefront of its planning throughout the removal process.

With OPP as an adviser, Penn State Golf Courses hired a tree removal company that began work this spring. After the establishment of new grass, and as part of a new course master plan, Penn State Golf Courses will work closely with the SI to initiate a phased replanting process. Additionally, the SI, alongside partners such as the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, will help assess the grounds for other opportunities to revitalize the spaces, such as the potential installation of pollinator gardens or the utilization of the dead trees as natural habitats for wildlife.

“We started working with SI a while back when we were looking at our own recycling efforts in the clubhouse and around the golf courses,” said Joseph Hughes, general manager of Penn State Golf Courses, “This is just a partnership that is continuing to grow."

As decisions are made, said Hughes, the golf courses and the institute consider how these decisions will impact the environment. With the space that will be freed up from the tree removals, the golf courses will investigate opportunities to implement sustainability initiatives. Additional possibilities for the replanting and revitalization process include the prioritization of incorporating native and pollinator-friendly plant species.

When removal and revitalization projects are evaluated for safety, aesthetics, gameplay, and ecological impacts, these partnerships allow the University to take advantage of any opportunity to become more sustainable, said Hughes.

Other units and groups across Penn State are encouraged to reach out to the SI for any sustainability-related challenges or projects.