Jesse Fraga / Contributing Writer
FIU recently planted over 2,000 palm trees around the Modesto Maidique Campus but some members of SGC-MMC want to plant a more diverse set on campus.
FIU SGA Cabinet member and former Secretary of Sustainability, Amelia Leon, proposed a resolution to establish an on-campus arboretum, a museum for living trees, on Monday, Oct. 14. This would essentially provide a more diverse tree collection across all areas on FIU grounds.
With the intent of creating a sustainable living lab for experiential learning and ecological diversity and about two years of planning, Leon said, “We’re passionate about preserving the earth because it’s the only one we got.”
SGC Senator and author of the resolution, Bryan Gomez, made it a point to not only acknowledge the eco-friendly benefits of an arboretum but to also view it’s benefits from a psychological approach.
“Studies show that the increase of tree canopies on campus leads to the decrease of depression rates and cardio medical conditions among people,” he said.
The plan was strengthened by the support of multiple FIU colleges and departments including the Honors College, the Biology Department and the Department of Parking, Sustainability and Transportation.
Requiring biologists, botanists, and architects to help create the foundation for the arboretum, Leon assured the Senators, “Our students and faculty are actually going to be designing the arboretum. It’s going to be a university-wide effort.”
While University members plan on contributing to the project, SGC’s main interest was how it will be financially supported.
Leon and her organizers plan to utilize a financial backing through fundraisers, donors, and grants, specifically, with the assistance of TREEmendous Miami, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to advocate for and promote beneficial green spaces in Miami-Dade County with over 6,000 volunteers.
During the proposal to the Senate, Gomez emphasized that Treemendous Miami has partnered with FIU to restore the MMC Nature Preserve. Furthermore, he claimed, “They are in favor of and plan to actively support the implementation of the FIU Arboretum.”
By establishing a sense of reliable support behind their plan, the FIU community was able to pass the resolution with 29 in favor and 1 opposed. Leon plans to present this proposal to President Mark B. Rosenberg within the next month.
Among the gallery was a group of Leon’s supportive peers, including freshman and Environmental Science and Sustainability Major, Juliana Alvarez. As an avid eco-activist, she recognized, “This is not something that we would immediately need, but it will benefit the FIU community as a whole in the long-run.”
Earlier that day, a decision was made to implement more light sources around campus as a response to the increase of reported rapes at FIU. Yet, while in support of the Arboretum Proposal, SGC Angel Algarin expressed concern regarding dark zones that additional trees may cause.
As it is, FIU has been accused of having an insufficient amount of light sources on campus, partially contributing to the 17 rapes on FIU property reported last year, according to the University’s 2018 Security and Fire Safety Report. However, to avoid this, Leon suggested to simply design the lights underneath or around the trees.
If the plan goes through under the president’s consent, FIU will be seeing a beautified, more sustainably green campus in the near future.
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