Linfield University’s campus is full of trees, from Oaks, Cedars, Sequoias, and even a Cherry tree. Every tree on campus is beautiful in its own right, but Dr. William Fleeger and Kelly Williams Brown are out to determine which tree is the best. Drawing on inspiration from the famous Fat Bear Week that goes on every year at Katmai National Park in Alaska, they present their own take on the event with Majestic Tree Week.
Linfield’s very own Environmental Advocacy Class put together a bracket of eight of the most majestic trees in a single-elimination fashion. The winner of the tournament will be crowned the most majestic tree.
The competitors include “Toby the Tree-mendous Transplant,” a Giant Sequoia located outside of Murdock hall, “The Comeback Kid”, a Dawn Redwood located west of Walker, “The Golden Giant,” a Big Leaf Maple located east of Pioneer Hall, “The Underdog,” a Yoshino Cherry behind Melrose, “Oakley the Academic,” a Pin Oak located by Campbell, “Burly the Legend” a White Oak in the Oak Grove, “Nature’s Bench”, a Cedar of Lebanon located on the Founders Way side of T.J Day hall, and “Willy Walnut,” a Black Walnut outside of Michelbrook House.
Mikayla Minton, a student who is a part of the project, told the Linfield Review that along with picking trees for the bracket, “We also created bios, did research, and created PR content for the trees and for the competition.” You can see all of the work Mikayla and the rest of the team behind Majestic Tree Week did on Majestictreeweek.org and on their Instagram, @majestictreeweek.
“It is difficult to get people to care about the environment”, said Minton when asked why the group is doing the project. “We figured that something fun and interactive like fat bear week would get people to unintendedly become invested in the well-being of the trees on campus.”
If Majestic Tree Week has the same effect on Linfield that Fat Bear Week had on the entire country, then they definitely will succeed in that goal.
Minton personally is endorsing the Cedar of Lebanon, or “Natures Bench” “ because it has so many limbs to sit on, and because my sorority Alpha Phi endorsed the tree.”
Voting for Majestic Tree Week begins on October 15th, and runs for the rest of the week, on the events Instagram page, @majestictreeweek. Biographies, the bracket, and any other related information can be found on the events website, majestictreeweek.org, along with a map of where all the trees are located. The trees competing can also be distinguished by the posters on them, denoting which tree it is and containing a QR code to the competition.
Minton hopes that as a result of Majestic Tree Week “the community has taken a second to look at and appreciate the environment around them through this campaign, because if we don’t become proactive, it may not be here one day for us to enjoy.” The winner of the competition will be announced on October 21st.
