Hill Country Roots, a student-led environmental service organization, will plant 2,000 trees at the UM Field Station next Saturday with the help of hundreds of volunteers.

The effort is part of the HCR’s Day of Service, which will mark the official start of the first student-run tree farm in Mississippi, according to Matt Knerr, a junior biochemistry major and current president of Hill Country Roots.

Knerr said the organization began with only four members who were concerned about erosion in the Oxford community. The organization identified that erosion in Oxford was largely caused by land developing companies who clear-cut their plots, causing soil runoff and decreased water quality. This is especially significant near low-income housing areas.

“HCR was formed to plant trees and advocate against this method of development, with the goal of reducing erosion and putting trees in the ground that’ll outlive all of us,” Knerr said. “HCR still has this goal at heart, but I’ve expanded it to include students and serve as a point of introduction into environmentalism.”

Former HCR member Maya Kaup spoke about the importance of the organization’s founding mission in a 2020 HottyToddy.com article.

“We all shared a love for trees and a concern about how many trees were being cut down for new developments,” Kaup said. “We started meeting every two weeks to discuss how we could preserve, protect and plant trees in our community.”

Now, the organization has over 100 members who are dedicated to environmental learning and volunteering to improve the community. 

Knerr said he got involved in Hill Country Roots his freshman year after he attended an event where they gave away free saplings. He walked away with two peach trees.

As the trees grew, so did his immense passion for sustainability. This sparked Knerr to begin the groundwork of a tree farm that he hopes will create a template for other schools throughout the state to replicate. 

“I want this to be a chance to get new students connected to sustainability and environmentalism,” Knerr said. “As president of HCR, I care about facilitating others’ passions and providing the resources and mentorship necessary to make (improvements to) Oxford and Lafayette County.”

Beyond planting trees, Knerr says he wants to lead an event that people will enjoy and talk about for years to come. 

“HCR has plans to expand the tree farm to grow 5,000 trees over the next year and a half, all of which will be out planted into the LOU area to improve water quality, prevent erosion and put people in contact with the earth and with environmentalism,” Knerr said. 

Kendall McDonald, the associate director for the Office of Sustainability, is the staff advisor for the event. McDonald said this event will help regenerate and inspire members of the community, especially during the stressful times the pandemic has brought to individuals.

“These trees will help generate oxygen, bioremediate pollutants, prevent erosion, provide shade to our future generations and support a healthy LOU community,” McDonald said. “Beyond this, the event will help bring community members together for a day spent in the fresh air doing something good, which we all need from time to time.” 

The service event will take place on Feb. 12 from 12-4 p.m. Volunteers are asked to meet at the Jackson Avenue Center at 11:15 a.m. to caravan to the UM Field Station, a few miles northeast of campus, where the trees will be planted.