Instead of scrambling for change at the vending machines, LSU students might soon be able to pluck their afternoon snack from a tree.
The LSU Student Senate passed legislation during its Nov. 11 meeting appropriating $3,300 to provide and maintain 50 satsuma trees throughout campus.
Senators Lily LaGrange and Hayden Pizzolato wrote the legislation, Student Government Finance Bill No. 7, and it passed with 79 percent favor.
LaGrange said the idea for the bill originated from a TED Talk called “How we can eat our landscapes,” which describes how a woman transformed a city without landscape into one with numerous fruit trees and other plants. The idea from the TED Talk was called an “edible sustainable landscape.”
“I really liked that,” LaGrange said. “I thought that was something that would really be possible here on campus because we have so much space and so many plants already.”
When presenting the bill to the Senate, LaGrange said there were three main reasons to plant the trees: They provide free food, promote a healthy lifestyle and foster a sense of community.
LaGrange said she spoke with Tammy Millican, the assistant director of the Office of Facility Services, about the bill and said Millican was supportive of the idea.
“I think the benefits are immeasurable,” LaGrange said. “I think this can be a really great thing for campus.”
Pizzolato spoke to the Senate about the logistics of the bill saying the plan is to plant the trees in sets of three in about 16 locations.
The senators are working with Dennis Mitchell, assistant director of Physical Plant/Facility Services, and Fred Fellner, assistant director of Landscape Services, to determine locations where the trees can last a long time, Pizzolato said.
“We can leave our mark here,” Pizzolato said. “They’re not just going to be uprooted or bulldozed in four years when we want to build a sidewalk.”
Pizzolato said each tree costs around $28. The bill will also pay Facility Services an additional $28 per tree for fertilizer, pesticides or anything else the plant may need. He said $500 buys plaques with the Student Government logo.
Satsumas are easy trees to maintain, LaGrange said. Logan Duplessis, the Senate parliamentarian, said the trees respond well to the cold, as well.
When asked about a timeline, Pizzolato said Louisiana has a late “arbor day,” and January is the best time to plant the trees.
The bill was highly debated among the budget and appropriations committee, said senator Jacob Phagan, the committee’s vice-chair. The committee passed it to the Senate floor with a vote of 6-4-1.
The committee did change the bill so it no longer pulled from the surplus account, which is reserved for one-time purchases. Instead, the money comes from the initiatives account, in case the Senate wanted to purchase more trees later.
Phagan said the debate during the committee meeting went well, but said much of it centered around hypothetical situations.
“You can throw out unnecessary hypotheticals for any bill that comes through the Senate,” Phagan said. “Those are all concerns, but I’m sure Facility Services can handle it.”
Senator Matthew Ledet spoke in favor of the bill because it supports Louisiana agriculture, as satsumas are common across the state.
Before the Senate voted, LaGrange said while the bill was expensive, the value of the purchase increases over time.
“The way I see this is as an investment,” LaGrange said. “These satsuma trees will go for a long time, and over time their yields will increase. The plant will only grow.”