Trees that have been felled around Iowa State are being recycled into furniture around campus.

After a tornado which felled several trees, including an aged scarlet oak, passed through campus in September 2005, Chris Martin, associate professor of art and design, helped lead an initiative to transform the dead trees into pieces of furniture for ISU projects.

Wood from the scarlet oak tree has already been used for nine pieces of furniture: six benches, two desks and a podium that now grace recently renovated Morrill Hall. Martin said there are still some large slabs of wood left over from the same tree that can be used for conference tables in other buildings on campus.

The initiative to recycle wood in this manner did not end with the Morrill Hall furniture, however. Martin and his colleagues plan to continue the recycling process well into the future.

Rare events such as tornadoes are not the only reasons for campus trees to come down, so more opportunities will continue to arise for similar projects.

For example, students in furniture design worked with other professionals to transform campus trees into six benches for the new multicultural center being built in the Memorial Union, as well as four benches for a lobby area.

The students will also complete two more pieces that have been requested for the building. Martin said the trees for these pieces of furniture were red oaks that were cut down to allow for the new additions to be built.

Making way for new renovations is only one reason for campus trees to be cut down. Often, Martin said, there is an issue of safety. For example, if an old tree is rotting on top, a large branch could very easily fall down and seriously harm someone.

Trees can also become diseased, Martin said, and that’s when they need to be cut down. He said an English brown oak was cut down last year because the top part of it became diseased.

Wood from English brown oaks is usually hard to obtain, Martin said, because England no longer exports the trees. Because of the unique nature of the wood, Martin said it will only be used for special projects.

“We have a campus that’s blessed with a large number of trees,” Martin said.

Martin said that in order to preserve safety and campus aesthetics, some trees need to come down.

Martin will be leaving to serve in the Peace Corps in June, so he will pass on the initiative to colleague Mark Chidister, associate professor of art and design. Martin said he thought the initiative, which currently does not have an official name, is important for campus.

“I guess I just think there’s a better use for material than just firewood,” Martin said. “[The wood] belongs to the campus, and I think this material should be used for something the residents of the campus can appreciate.”

Martin said he and others involved in the initiative are currently soliciting suggestions for a name for the ongoing project of using fallen campus trees for campus furniture.

Dean Vande Griend, an ISU alumnus who currently resides near Story City and works at the local post office, was involved in the Morrill Hall and MU projects.

“I thought it was a good idea,” Vande Griend said. “The trees were there on campus, and now they’re still there on campus.”