On April 25, 1968, NIU brought approximately 300 trees in to be planted all around campus to help beautify it, according to a Northern Star article.

This effort was made to beautify NIU and in response to students who had written to the Northern Star who said more stabile objects around campus would make it more beautiful. Students cited the Calder stabile as an example of a beautifying object found on campus.

Raleigh Larson, then-NIU landscape gardener, said the trees were brought to NIU as part of the university’s beautification “treetment.”

Of the 300 trees, 150 were planted around various parts of campus. Some of the new tree sites included near the baseball diamond by Huskie Stadium, around Grant Towers and the west parking lot of Douglas Hall.

Larson said some tree varieties planted included maple, Lombardi Poplars and weeping willow.

The holes for each tree had to be planned and dug a year in advance so that ground crews could make the holes in the winter and not ruin the grass by driving over them with trucks. The trees are all five to six years old and those that had not been planted yet were put in NIU’s nursery.