Arbor Day returned to Barry University this fall as part of Founders Week, reviving a long-standing campus tradition and beginning a new project to honor the Adrian Dominican Sisters who have shaped the University since its founding. Barry students, faculty, and staff gathered to plant 25 Pink Cassia cherry blossom trees, marking the first installment of a campus-wide planting that will continue through 2030.
The trees were procured by Bryan Hively, Laudato Si’ Council member and faculty member in the Department of Fine Arts. Over the next five years, 168 cherry blossom trees will be planted across campus—one for each Adrian Dominican Sister who has ministered or taught at Barry. The project is designed so that all 168 trees will be established and blooming in time for Barry’s centennial celebration in 2040.
The trees will serve not only as a living tribute, but also as reminders of the Sisters’ enduring presence and legacy at Barry. Professor Hively’s ceramics students will create a plaque for each tree, dedicating it by name to the Sister it honors.
The timing of the project is especially meaningful. By beginning the planting during Founders Week, the Barry community is invited to reflect on the long-term vision of the Adrian Dominican Sisters, whose investment in education and community continues to shape the University today. Planting trees that will grow toward the University’s centennial offers a tangible expression of that same spirit of stewardship—looking beyond the present moment and investing in a future that others will experience and enjoy.
This long view is at the heart of integral ecology: recognizing that our relationship with the natural world is connected to our responsibility to one another and to generations yet to come. Each tree planted on campus will carry both a name and a story, linking Barry’s Dominican heritage with its ongoing commitment to a more sustainable and life-giving common home.
The Office of Integral Ecology is grateful to the students, faculty, and others who helped bring this tradition back to campus. We look forward to continuing the planting in the years ahead and welcoming the Barry community to future Arbor Day celebrations.
