Southern Adventist University’s large, rural campus in Collegedale recently got even bigger as approximately 250 acres on the school’s eastern boundary were donated by a local family through a land trust. Similarly, a private landowner is allowing Southern to manage an additional adjoining tract, meaning a total of 400 acres will be newly available for public recreation beginning in 2016.
Administrators, students, and community members will gather for a property dedication ceremony on Friday at 4 p.m.
Southern is using a portion of this land to create 10 miles of hiking and biking paths, which will complement the university’s extensive and award-winning trails already in existence on the opposite side of campus.
A one-mile trail with a spiritual emphasis is also being developed. The blazing and maintenance of these new paths will largely be handled by Friends of White Oak Mountain, a grassroots organization in Collegedale.
The recently-donated tract—which brings Southern’s total acreage to 1,300—was a contribution from two alumni who met as students at Southern in the early 1950s before graduating and getting married. Their children attended Southern, and their grandchildren currently attend.
During the Friday event, Southern is partnering with a national conservation group in the planting of two American Chestnut Trees, a formerly abundant species which struggled in the last century but is making a comeback. Thomas Saielli, Southern Regional Science coordinator for The American Chestnut Foundation, will give a brief talk about the history of these trees and the value of land preservation.
For more information or directions to the dedication ceremony, call 423 236-2829.