{"id":27567,"date":"2024-11-19T09:30:23","date_gmt":"2024-11-19T14:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/?p=27567"},"modified":"2024-11-19T13:40:21","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T18:40:21","slug":"marshall-university-dedicates-artemis-moon-tree-on-huntington-campus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/2024\/11\/marshall-university-dedicates-artemis-moon-tree-on-huntington-campus\/","title":{"rendered":"Marshall University dedicates Artemis Moon Tree on Huntington campus"},"content":{"rendered":"
Marshall University marked a historic moment Monday with the dedication of an Artemis Moon Tree sapling, grown from seeds that traveled around the moon.<\/p>\n

The sweetgum tree, native to Appalachia, now stands proudly outside Old Main, the university’s iconic administrative building.<\/p>\n

The sapling, awarded to Marshall University through a competitive grant process led by College of Science faculty member Rick Gage and what is believed to be the first moon tree in West Virginia under the Artemis program, represents a symbolic connection between the university, NASA and exploration in all realms of study. Administered by NASA and the U.S. Forest Service, the Moon Tree program continues a tradition started during the Apollo era, when seeds orbited the moon and were planted on Earth as lasting symbols of hope, exploration and discovery.<\/p>\n

“This tree has traveled farther than any human being ever has,” said Gage. “But what makes it special is what it represents: hope and a future. These samplings are being entrusted to a select group of institutions like Marshall University. Places where they can ignite curiosity, foster learning and serve as a beacon for community engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sweet gum sapling is one of several being planted at distinguished educational institutions across the country. The continuation of the Moon Tree project highlights the enduring spirit of exploration and the vital role of education in advancing humanity\u2019s understanding of the universe.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis tree enhances the beauty of our campus, which is visited by thousands of people each year,\u201d said university provost Avi Mukherjee. \u201cWhile this has been largely the work of our Marshall Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, it also represents the spirit of interdisciplinary collaboration across fields like physics, astronomy and others.\u201d<\/p>\n

The tree dedication comes at a significant moment for Marshall University, as a new capital campaign is being launched to fund scholarships and grants, as well as a planned campus arboretum.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis tree is just the beginning,\u201d said dean of the College of Science Wesley Stites. \u201cAs we look to the future, our planned arboretum will reflect our commitment to environmental education, research, and community engagement, fostering learning opportunities for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stites said the college is interested in feedback from the university\u2019s alumni and friends, community members and others about plans for a potential arboretum and invites participation in a survey located here:
\nhttps:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/cos\/tree-and-bench-campus-project-interest-form\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Media assets from Monday\u2019s event:<\/p>\n

Photo Gallery: https:\/\/muphotos.marshall.edu\/2024\/Events\/Moon-Tree\/Moon-Tree-Edited<\/a><\/p>\n

Video (for download): https:\/\/bit.ly\/moontreededication<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Marshall University marked a historic moment Monday with the dedication of an Artemis Moon Tree sapling, grown from seeds that traveled around the moon. The sweetgum tree, native to Appalachia, now stands proudly outside Old Main, the university’s iconic administrative building. The sapling, awarded to Marshall University through a competitive grant process led by College […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":239,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cos","category-news-releases"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/239"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27567"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27567\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27578,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27567\/revisions\/27578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}