Campus History Keepers with Carolina Tree Heritage

In the aftermath of Hurricane Fran, UNC Grounds' green recycling program began. That's because the University inherited the grinder used during storm cleanup, which made wood chips from downed trees.

Two decades later, University Arborist Tom Bythell asked administration to purchase a new grinder in order to continue green waste recycling program.

And a few years after that, Carolina Tree Heritage came along. The nonprofit, housed within the UNC Institute for the Environment, aims to utilize the oldest, biggest fallen trees on campus. The program proved to be an excellent opportunity for Tom to recycle even more trees, specifically ones that were too large for the University's grinder.

With these two methods of recycling trees on campus, the University recycles a majority of its landscape scraps.

Join us for this episode with UNC Institute for the Environment Associate Director Susan Cohen and University Arborist Tom Bythell, who manage the Carolina Tree Heritage program.

Sustainable Carolina works within the UNC Institute for the Environment to increase the University energy and water efficiency and decrease waste sent to the landfill. We work with student, staff and faculty to connect University research with these operational efforts.