From Research to Recreation: Rutgers Dawn Redwoods 🌲

What happens when you combine student innovation, sustainable thinking, and a portable sawmill? You get a brand-new boardwalk made from reclaimed dawn redwood.

Last week marked an exciting milestone for the Rutgers Urban Forestry program and Forestry Club—the first completed project that successfully turned reclaimed wood into a revitalized trail at Rutgers Gardens.

Following the 2023 thinning of the dawn redwood stand at Rutgers Horticultural Farm III, the Urban Forestry Program began thinking of creative ways to reuse the wood on campus. This year, with the help of students from the Forestry Club, strong progress has been made by utilizing the program’s portable sawmill—successfully milling multiple species while gaining hands-on technical and safety experience.

Earlier this year, Forestry Club student Katie Marra suggested partnering with Rutgers Gardens to rebuild a worn section of boardwalk using dawn redwood from the thinning. The idea took hold, and the club began milling 120 feet of planks. Urban Forestry intern Atomu Saul took the lead in milling and coordinating the construction of the planks.

With help from Rutgers Gardens staff, interns, and volunteers, the first 50 feet of the new boardwalk is now in place—blending research, learning, and sustainability into one beautiful trail upgrade.

These redwoods have now lived three lives:

• As part of a research plot

• As an educational and training resource at the sawmill on Cook Campus

• And now, as a new boardwalk improving the trails at Rutgers Gardens

A full-circle moment for forestry and thoughtful reuse! A huge thank you to everyone who was involved in this project!

Dawn redwood stand during thinning — The dawn redwood stand during the 2023 thinning

Dawn redwood logs at sawmill site — The dawn redwood logs were brought over to the sawmill site

Rutgers students operating sawmill — Rutgers undergraduate students carefully operating the sawmill

Logs carefully arranged for installation — The logs were carefully arranged so that they would fit together well, before moving them to Rutgers Gardens

Trail clearing and wood staging — Rutgers Gardens staff and interns worked hard before the install date to clear the trail

Logs positioned on site — The logs were all moved into place on site

Completed raised boardwalk — The finished boardwalk! This area in Rutgers Gardens gets pretty wet, so the raised boardwalk provides a better trail surface

Gardens and forestry crew — The hardworking Rutgers Gardens and Rutgers Forestry crew!

Forestry club students sawmilling and installing — The Rutgers Forestry Club students who did a lot of the sawmilling and installation