Hurricane Gustav uprooted an oak tree in the Quad in front of Allen Hall.
More than 12,000 live oak trees continue growing across the campus they shade.The LSU Foundation preserves and protects these oaks’ longevity with the help of donors willing to pony up as much as $50,000 to endow an oak in the Quad. Tiger tailgaters and love-struck students wishing to mark the oak standing in their memories with a plaque pay $10,000 for an oak on the Parade Ground or $4,000 for an oak elsewhere on campus.The money is put into a general endowment fund from which earnings pay for care of all oaks on campus, not just that endowed tree. Half of the donation goes into the Oak Endowment, and the other half goes into an account that can be used immediately to oversee campus oaks.There are 249 endowed oaks on campus, according an April article in The Daily Reveille.All campus oaks were conservatively appraised at $36 million when Humphreys first came to the University 10 years ago, he said. Today, the trees are worth more than $50 million, Humphreys estimated.Planting a small live Oak tree now cost $200, and in 10 years, each tree will be worth $10,000.”Particular trees mean particular things to certain people,” said LSU Foundation Public Relations Director Scott Madere in April. “It could be your tailgating spot, the place where you met your wife or the spot where you and your buddies used to hang out here on campus. For every person, there is a particular spot on campus that’s dear to them, and there’s an oak tree right there.”
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Contact Nicholas Persac at [email protected].