‘Out of This World’ New Tree Takes Root on Campus

By ISABEL GERHEIM

Seton Hill University’s trees are an important part of the campus environment. A newly planted tree has caught the attention of both the Seton Hill and Greensburg communities. The “Moon Tree,” grown from a seed that traveled to the moon, has found its place on campus. 

Assistant Professor of Biology Renee Rosier and Former Registrar Nicholas Jobe applied to the Moon Tree Program through the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to receive one of the saplings in celebration of 100 years of tree planting on campus. 

“Nicholas and I learned about the Moon Tree Program and thought that Seton Hill would be a good fit for a Moon Tree because of our long history with tree care,” Rosier said. The pair prepared an application that included potential locations, care and marketing plans, as well as how the tree would be a community resource. 

“NASA asked for detailed plans about how we would prune the tree, check it each day, and estimates of how many people would access the tree,” said Rosier. The tree is a  “symbolic celebration” of the first seeds that were sent to space during the Apollo 14 mission. 

“The seeds from that first mission were exposed to significant radiation and changes in gravity and it was unclear how that would affect seeds. The first Moon Trees germinated and grew like typical trees, which suggests that seeds are not affected negatively by space travel,” said Rosier. 

“We found that we were selected for a Moon Tree on Founder’s Day in Spring 2025.

“This tree increases the number of notable, historic trees on campus. It provides more opportunities for us to celebrate trees on campus and work towards designation as a ‘Tree Campus’ by the Arbor Foundation,” Rosier said. “For many people, this may be their only opportunity to touch a space artifact. I hope that the tree will become a gathering place and spark curiosity about science and space.”

Rosier envisions an outdoor classroom space around the tree so the Seton Hill community and visitors can hold events or classes there. “Ultimately, trees from this program are intended as educational resources for the stewards and the broader community beyond campus.” 

Though the space around the tree hasn’t become a designated outside classroom, that doesn’t mean it hasn’t found its way into Seton Hill’s classrooms. For English Professor Laura Patterson, the Moon Tree became a topic of interest. 

“I teach English 233, Writing Poetry, and as poets, we’re always looking for new and unique subjects for our poetry. The Moon Tree has so many dimensions that it seemed like a topic that would spark interest for a wide variety of students,” Patterson said. 

“Our class paid a visit to the Moon Tree early in the school year. It was a beautiful day, and we sat outside to observe the Moon Tree and make notes for the drafts of our poems. A group of students are working on creating a collection of Moon Tree poems that we hope to make available online and in print.” 

Patterson hopes that the incorporation of the new tree will encourage people to look everywhere for poetry topics. “I also hope that writing about the Moon Tree and sharing our writing will demonstrate deep connections between the humanities and the sciences. To me, one of the great joys of a liberal arts education is exploring how our academic subjects are connected.” 

Senior English literature student, Madeleine Flory, is currently taking Patterson’s course. “Dr. Rosier came into Dr. Patterson’s writing poetry course and told us the background of the tree, how we got it, and what it means to have one. Dr. Rosier put a lot of work into getting the tree for us and it was a pretty difficult process, but she pulled it off,” Flory said. 

“We got to go sit outside with the tree a few weeks back and look at it and admire it, too, to give us ideas for our poems, which was nice,” said Flory. 

Flory explained that everyone was assigned to write a poem regarding the tree, with everyone having different takes on the assignment. “Some people wrote about the tree directly, while others talked about the environment and others spoke about trees more generally.”

Now rooted on campus, the Moon Tree, an American Sweetgum, is quickly finding its space both inside and outside of the classroom, becoming a meaningful part of campus life.