More than 100 Vietnam War veterans, families and supporters gathered at Clark College on March 29 to dedicate a Witness Tree commemorating the 50^th anniversary of the end of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.  

Hosted by the Community Military Appreciation Committee, the event began with a panel of speakers, including Vietnam veterans and advocates who spoke about the realities of war.

Col. Mike Burton, USAF (ret) said, “Many Vietnam vets are still carrying the scars, both mental and physical. When they came back, nobody talked about it. Nobody wanted to talk about it.”

Then the crowd walked outside along a sidewalk lined with veterans holding American and military flags and stopped at the base of a majestic Turkish black fir to dedicate the tree.

Clark College Board of Trustees Chair Paul Speer told the crowd that selecting the campus as the site of the Vietnam War Witness Tree “recognizes the important role that Clark College has played for generations of veterans and their families whether in supporting their educational goals or their struggle with the physical and emotional scars that have been inflicted upon them. Whether in the classroom, at the Veteran’s Resource Center, or in the community, Clark has provided a beacon of hope, opportunity, and transformation for 90 years and will continue to do so for at least the next 90.”

Vietnam veterans’ connection to Clark College

Many Vietnam veterans attended the event, and many had Clark College connections. Luis Munoz served in the US Navy aboard the USS Canberra from 1960 to 1964. When he returned home to Vancouver, he took mechanical engineering classes at Clark. Munoz’s career included working in the missile program at Lockheed.

Larry Lewton served in the US Navy aboard the USS Kittyhawk. After his military service, he took photography classes at Clark College, had a career as a medical photographer and worked at OHSU in Portland.

Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle told the crowd that President Barack Obama proclaimed March 29 as Vietnam Veterans Day in 2012. The day is meant to be observed with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that commemorate the 50-year anniversary of when the last U.S. combat troops departed Vietnam of March 29, 1973.

McEnerny-Ogle said, “In Vancouver we prioritize honoring all veterans and their families for the sacrifice and their service for this country. Let’s remind all who were in that conflict that they are still respected, still honored 50 years later.”

Photographs: Clark College/Susan Parrish

Members of the Clark community help plant a Yoshino cherry tree at the 2018 Arbor Day celebration. Left to right: US Forest Service officer Dave Olson; International Programs director Jane Walster; Clark College president Bob Knight; and Clark College trustee Royce Pollard.

On April 11, Clark College celebrated tree planting and care at the annual Arbor Day celebration. Led by Clark College International Programs director Jane Walster, the ceremony took place on the northeast corner of Fort Vancouver Way and McLoughlin Boulevard.

The theme of this year’s event was “The Gift of Friendship.” At the ceremony, Clark trustee and former mayor of Vancouver Royce Pollard announced the gift of 200 new Somei Yoshino flowering cherry trees donated by Tatsuo Ito of SEH America, a Japanese manufacturing company in Vancouver. The new cherry trees—along with the 100 Shirofugen cherry trees donated more than 25 years ago—act as symbols of the college’s enduring friendship with Japan.

President Bob Knight accepts the Tree Campus USA award from U.S. Forest Service officer Dave Olson.

According to Tim Carper, a member of the Campus Tree Advisory Committee, 100 of the donated trees were planted prior to the ceremony, including 20 trees at Clark’s Columbia Tech Center location, and the college is determining where the remaining 100 trees will be planted.

At the ceremony Clark College was also awarded with the Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree Campus USA designation for the eighth consecutive year. Dave Olson of the U.S. Forest Service presented the award to Clark College president Bob Knight.

The Arbor Day celebration concluded with a ceremonial planting of one of the Yoshino cherry trees donated by Ito.

Photos: Clark College/Tim Carper

Members of the community help plant a Black Hills Spruce during Clark College’s 2016 Arbor Day celebration. Left to right: Campus Tree Advisory Committee member Jim Wasden, Director of Facilities Services Tim Petta, retired groundskeeper Skip Jimerson, Vice President of Administrative Services Bob Williamson, and Washington State Forester Aaron Everett.

On April 13, Clark College celebrated nature at its annual Arbor Day event and tree planting.

The event, which was free and open to the public, featured the addition of a Black Hills Spruce to the campus’s beautiful 90-acre arboretum. This was just the most recent effort by the college to include all 50 state trees in the campus arboretum: The Black Hills Spruce is the official state tree of South Dakota. With the addition of this tree, the arboretum contains trees representing 40 states.

Starts of several more state trees were present at the ceremony; these donations are still too young to plant outdoors, but will be tended in the college’s greenhouse until they are ready to take their respective places in the arboretum.

Left to right: Campus Tree Advisory Committee member Tim Carper, retired groundskeeper Skip Jimerson, and Facilities Services employee (and Skip’s wife) Lori Jimerson.

The event took place at the southeast corner of the Frost Arts Center, near the north end of the Royce E. Pollard Japanese Friendship Garden. Jim Wasden, a retired member of the U.S. Forest Service and current member of the Clark College Campus Tree Advisory Committee, gave the keynote speech. Recently retired groundskeeper Skip Jimerson, who was instrumental in Clark’s efforts to include all 50 state trees, returned to campus to participate in the event and ceremonially shovel dirt onto the new tree.

The event featured the presentation by Washington State Forester Aaron Everett of the college’s Tree Campus USA designation by the Arbor Day Foundation for the sixth year in a row. Tree Campus USA colleges must meet rigorous standards in five separate areas to earn this designation.

The arboretum can be explored online at trees.clark.edu, which features an interactive, mobile-friendly map to view the locations of and access descriptions for most trees on campus. This includes a six-decade-old Scarlet Oak and the campus’s iconic Shirofugen blossoming cherry trees, the latter of which are celebrated each year at the college’s annual Sakura Festival.

Photos: Clark College/Hannah Erickson

Skip and Lori Jimerson at Skip’s retirement party

On September 24, Clark College bid a fond farewell to retiring Grounds Manager Skip Jimerson. The Penguin Student Lounge was filled with colleagues who’d worked with Jimerson over his quarter-century at the college.

Jimerson began his career at Clark as a custodian in 1990 and shortly thereafter moved to the grounds division. Once there, his strong work ethic and dedication helped him advance until, in 2008, he was named grounds manager.

Many people stood to share memories of Jimerson, often referring to his famously laconic demeanor. (Indeed, true to character, Jimerson declined to make any public remarks at the party.) “Skip is a quiet leader,” said Clark College President Bob Knight in his remarks. “He doesn’t talk much—he talks with his actions. He cares about this institution.”

Director of Facilities Services Tim Petta said, “In my mind, I’m going to think about you as the college’s Lorax—you speak for the trees.”

Grounds Manager Skip Jimerson and CADD Professor Keith Stansbury share a laugh at Jimerson’s retirement party after 25 years of service. At the party, Director of Facilities Services Tim Petta, not pictured, referenced the quotation on this plaue that reads, “A society grows greeat when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.

Jimerson was instrumental in making Clark College officially recognized as a Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation for the past five years, as well as in an ongoing effort to plant state trees from all 50 states on the college’s main campus. Colleagues mentioned many other projects he’d helped realize, ranging from outdoor play spaces for Child & Family Studies to work on new facilities like Clark College at Columbia Tech Center and the new STEM Building being built on the main campus. Other colleagues praised him as a manager.

“What I most value is his gentle spirit,” said Director of Career Services Edie Blakley. “Some of our students have less-than-stellar backgrounds. Skip, you’ve always given people a second chance, and that has really touched my heart.”

There was one more colleague who had plenty of praise for him: Lori Jimerson, Skip’s wife of 26 years, who works as a fiscal specialist in Facilities Services. “I’m going to miss him as a coworker, honestly,” she said in between serving slices of cake to the gathered guests. “He’s an excellent colleague. … He’s really put his heart and soul into this place.”

Photos: Clark College/Hannah Erickson

One of 100 shirofugen cherry trees on Clark’s main campus blossoming near the Royce E. Pollard Japanese Friendship Garden, where (weather permitting) the opening remarks for this year’s Sakura Festival will be held.

On Thursday, April 16, Clark College’s 2015 Sakura Festival will honor the historic ties of friendship between the cities of Vancouver, Washington, and Joyo, Japan. This year’s celebration holds particular significance, as it recognizes several important milestones: the 25th anniversary of the donation by Mr. John Kageyama of the 100 shirofugen cherry trees whose blossoming on the Clark College campus this festival celebrates, the 10th anniversary of Clark’s Sakura celebration, and the 20th anniversary of the Vancouver-Joyo Sister City relationship.

The festival will begin with opening remarks at 1 p.m. at the Royce E. Pollard Japanese Friendship Garden, which is located next to the Beacock Music Hall on Clark’s main campus. (In the event of inclement weather the ceremony will be held in Gaiser Student Center.) Dignitaries who are scheduled to speak include Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt; John Kageyama, President of America Kotobuki; Hiroshi Furusawa, Portland Consul General; Tatsuo Ito, Executive Vice President of SEH America Inc.; and Clark College international student Erina Yamazaki. Located within Kyoto Prefecture, Joyo is Vancouver’s official sister city in Japan.

The opening ceremony will include a koto performance by Yukiko Vossen and a performance by the Clark College Women’s Ensemble. The koto, a stringed musical instrument, is the national instrument of Japan.

From 2 to 3:30 p.m., the Sakura celebration will continue in the Gaiser Student Center, where guests will enjoy family-friendly cultural activities including a dance performance by the Clark College Japanese Club, a greeting from the children in the college’s Child & Family Studies program, and a performance by members of the Portland Taiko Drum Group. Refreshments will be served. Information about the Sakura Ceremony is available at www.clark.edu/cc/sakura.

All events are free and open to the public. The Sakura Festival is sponsored by Clark College, the City of Vancouver and the Vancouver Rotary. For video of last year’s Sakura celebration, please visit Clark’s YouTube channel.

Clark College is located at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver. Driving directions and parking maps are available at www.clark.edu/maps. Individuals who need accommodation due to a disability in order to fully participate in this event should contact Clark College’s Disability Support Services Office at 360-992-2314 or 360-991-0901 (VP) or visit the Penguin Union Building room 013.

Photo: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Members of Facilities Services proudly display Clark College’s Tree Campus USA award during the college’s 2013 Arbor Day event.

Clark College is one of 10 finalists in the national Arbor Day Foundation’s annual Tree Campus USA “Celebrate Arbor Day Event Contest,” large school division. The contest, which includes college campuses from across the United States, will reward five colleges in each division with materials, funding, and support for a special Arbor Day celebration in 2015.

Winning colleges will be determined by the number of votes received at the contest’s website. Public voting begins October 15 and runs through October 22. Every person is allowed to vote once per day. As of noon on October 15, Clark was leading in number of votes in its category, outpacing much larger schools like Colorado State University and the University of South Carolina.

Clark College has earned Tree Campus USA designation from the Arbor Day Foundation for the past four years in a row. If the college is a winner in this contest, it plans to use the prize to host a tree-themed geocaching scavenger hunt.

President Bob Knight receives Clark’s Tree Campus USA award from Ben Thompson of the Washington Department of Natural Resources.

On April 9, Clark College celebrated both the natural and digital worlds at its annual Arbor Day event, as it added two new trees to the campus’s beautiful arboretum and unveiled a new, student-designed website that uses digital technology to catalog that arboretum. The new online map allows visitors to instantly access descriptions of most trees on campus through their mobile devices.

“This website is a great testament to the value of service learning here at Clark,” said Computer Technology Department Chair Robert Hughes at the ceremony, which took place under sunny skies just south of the Chimes Tower. “It showcases the talent of our students, the value of our instruction, and a great part of Clark’s visual landscape.”

The mobile-friendly online map is the product of work done by students in instructor Gus Torres’s spring 2013 Web Design II class. The students worked with the college’s Campus Tree Advisory Committee to identify trees in the campus’s extensive arboretum, which includes such notable trees as a six-decade-old Scarlet Oak and 100 Shirofugen blossoming cherry trees donated to the campus by Japanese businessman John Kageyama in 1990. Students then GPS-tagged each listed tree and added it to the map with information about its genus and species. Additional students contributed to the project in subsequent quarters. Hughes was one of the faculty members who helped support the project, along with Torres, Computer Graphics Technology professor Kristl Plinz, and Computer Technology instructor Bruce Elgort.

The online map documents Clark’s extensive arboretum.

The event also featured the official bestowing on Clark of Tree Campus USA designation by the Arbor Day Foundation for the fourth year in a row. Tree Campus USA colleges must meet rigorous standards in five separate areas to earn this designation. The award was presented by a Washington State Department of Natural Resources Urban Forestry Specialist Ben Thompson and received by Clark College President Robert K. Knight.

“It’s very exciting that Clark College has such enthusiasm for urban forestry,” said Thompson, who noted that Clark was helping Vancouver earn a “trifecta” by being a Tree City USA with both a Tree Line USA and a Tree Campus USA. He also noted that Clark’s arboretum might benefit students in unsuspected ways.

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that so many colleges are located on beautiful campuses filled with trees,” he said. “It puts us at ease, at rest. It makes us ready for learning.”

Clark College Bob Knight agreed. “If our students feel comfortable and our faculty feel comfortable, then it opens up their minds and creativity more,” he said, adding that the new arboretum map was a perfect example of that. “It’s exactly what we want to encourage here at Clark College.”

Children from Clark’s Child & Family Studies program get help on their tree-themed scavenger hunt from, left to right, Dean of STEM Dr. Peter Williams, President Bob Knight, and Campus Tree Committee members Tim Carper and Melissa Favara.

Other speakers at the event included Dean of STEM Dr. Peter Williams and Zahid Chaudry, GIS Program Manager of the U.S. Forest Service Region 6. Additionally, two trees were added to the campus arboretum:  an Eastern Hemlock and an Eastern White Pine. These are the official state trees of Pennsylvania and Maine, respectively, and are part of an effort by the college to include all 50 state trees in the campus arboretum; with these two additions, the arboretum contains 39 state trees.

Also present were two classrooms of children from Clark’s Child & Family Studies program, who participated in a tree-themed scavenger hunt and received “seed bombs” filled with seeds of indigenous plants.

Photo: Clark College/Hannah Erickson

The new mobile-friendly arboretum map pinpoints and identifies trees all over Clark’s main campus.

On April 9, Clark College will celebrate both the natural and digital worlds at its annual Arbor Day event, as it adds two new trees to the campus’s beautiful arboretum and unveils a new, student-designed website that uses digital technology to catalog that arboretum. The new online map will allow visitors to instantly access descriptions of most trees on campus through their mobile devices.

The mobile-friendly online map is the product of work done by students in instructor Gus Torres’s spring 2013 Web Design II class. The students worked with the college’s Campus Tree Advisory Committee to identify trees in the campus’s extensive arboretum, which includes such notable trees as a six-decade-old Scarlet Oak and 100 Shirofugen blossoming cherry trees donated to the campus by Japanese businessman John Kageyama in 1990. Students then GPS-tagged each tree and added it to the map with information about its genus and species. Additional students contributed to the project in subsequent quarters, with faculty from both the Computer Graphics Technology and the Computer Technology departments providing guidance and support.

“I look forward to the sight of Clark College denizens and those in the community at large walking across campus consulting their phones and tablets to find the answer to ‘What kind of tree is this?'” said Computer Technology Department Head Robert Hughes, who also teaches in the Computer Graphics Technology program. “Project-based client work has been a component of our graphics and web-related curriculum for a long time. These types of experiences are helpful as our students move into the workforce.”

Hughes was one of the faculty members who helped support the project, along with Torres, Computer Graphics Technology professor Kristl Plinz, and Computer Technology instructor Bruce Elgort.

Members of Facilities Services proudly display Clark College’s Tree Campus USA award during the college’s 2013 Arbor Day event.

In keeping with this year’s Arbor Day theme, “Trees and Technology,” the event’s keynote speech will be presented by Zahid Chaudry, GIS Program Manager of the U.S. Forest Service Region 6. Additionally, two trees are being added to the campus arboretum:  an Eastern Hemlock and an Eastern White Pine. These are the official state trees of Pennsylvania and Maine, respectively, and are part of an effort by the college to include all 50 state trees in the campus arboretum; with these two additions, the arboretum will contain 39 state trees.

The event, which will take place at 11:00 a.m. just south of Cannell Library, will also feature the official bestowing on Clark of Tree Campus USA designation by the Arbor Day Foundation for the fourth year in a row. Tree Campus USA colleges must meet rigorous standards in five separate areas to earn this designation. The award will be presented by a staff member from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources and received by Clark College President Robert K. Knight.

The event is free and open to the public.

Photo: Clark College/Jenny Shadley

Environmental Biology students take a break before planting a Chinese Pistache in Scarpelli Circle to smile with Instructional and Classroom Support Technician Tim Carper, who organizes the annual tree planting at Clark.

As Kermit the Frog once sang, it’s not easy being green. Admittedly, Kermit probably wasn’t talking about shoveling dirt in a cold, quintessentially Pacific Northwest drizzle. But members of the Clark College and greater Vancouver community banded together on November 6 to do just that during the college’s annual tree planting. These plantings help maintain the main campus’s arboretum, as well as its status as a Tree Campus USA.

The group that gathered under rainy skies to plant trees included students from Clark’s Environmental Biology class; members of the Clark College Environmental Club; participants in the Washington Conservation Corps; members of the college’s Tree Advisory Committee; and representatives from Vancouver’s Urban Forestry. Staff from Clark College Facilities Services also assisted in the project.

Volunteers clear Scarpelli Circle of non-native plants and prepare it for having a new tree planted in its center.

The group planted four trees. Two of them–an American Yellowwood and a Chinese Pistache–were donated by Urban Forestry and are new species to the arboretum. The group also planted a Knobcone Pine; this tree was actually an offshoot from an older tree on campus that died and was removed. “So technically, it is a new tree to campus as well, because the parent tree had died and been removed from the inventory,” said Instructional and Classroom Support Technician Tim Carper, who has organized the tree planting and Tree Campus USA activities at Clark for the past four years.

Carper noted that the Yellowwood and Pistache weren’t just new species to the campus–they were entirely new genera. “We are very close to having trees representing every genus that will reasonably grow in our climate and is available to us,” he said. “That has been kind of the guideline for adding to the arboretum.”

The fourth tree, a Snake-Bark Maple with colorful leaves and bark, was appropriately enough planted near Frost Arts Center.

 Photos: Clark College/Hannah Erickson

Portland Taiko drummers perform.

Friendship, like all living things, requires regular tending to keep it thriving. And Clark College’s 2013 Sakura Festival did just that, strengthening the bonds of friendship that led to Clark receiving a gift of 100 shirofugen cherry trees from John Kageyama, president of America Kotobuki.

Clark College President Robert K. Knight, John Kageyama, President of America Kotobuki Electronics, Inc., and Tim Leavitt, Mayor of Vancouver.

Kageyama was present at the opening ceremony for the festival, held April 18. He expressed joy in seeing the trees he had donated in 1990 now mature and blossoming. “At the time, I didn’t realized how beautiful these trees would grow,” he said during his speech to the crowd that gathered under gray but rainless clouds.

Other dignitaries who spoke during the ceremony included Clark College President Bob Knight; Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt; Tatsuo Ito, Executive Vice President of SEH America Inc.; and Toshiharu Okuda of the Kyoto Prefecture Assembly. Joyo, Vancouver’s sister city in Japan, is located within Kyoto Prefecture.

Maho Muto, in red kimono, was the first recipient of the Dr. Kanagawa scholarship.

The ceremony took place next to the Royce E. Pollard Japanese Friendship Garden, yet another gift of friendship cementing the ties between Vancouver and Japan. The garden was a gift to the city of Vancouver from Dr. Chihiro Kanagawa. During its dedication at the 2012 Sakura Festival, President Knight announced the Dr. Kanagawa Scholarship providing full tuition and fees to Clark College for one academic year to an international student from Japan.

Maho Muto, the first recipient of the scholarship, also spoke during the ceremony. Clad in a traditional kimono, she expressed her thanks for the opportunity to study at Clark. “I feel like I have a big, big family in Vancouver, Washington,” she said. “You have made me so happy to have the opportunity to study here and I am thankful for so many people’s support.”

Before the ceremony, Yukiko Vossen performed on the koto, the national instrument of Japan, with flute accompaniment. The ceremony ended with a performance by the Clark College Women’s Choral Ensemble under the direction of music professor April Duvic. President Knight concluded his remarks by saying, “As we celebrate the beauty of our flowering cherry trees, let us also take a moment to celebrate the friendships that have brought us here today. May they too continue to bloom and flourish for years to come.”

After the formal ceremony, guests walked to Gaiser Student Center to enjoy cultural displays and activities hosted by Vancouver Rotary, the Clark College Japanese Club, International Programs, and the Anime and Manga Club. Onstage entertainment included a demonstration of a formal Japanese tea ceremony and a lively performance by the Portland Taiko drummers.

Michiyo Okuhara, Japanese professor, second from the left, with her students.

Newly tenured Japanese professor Michiyo Okuhara, who serves on the Sakura Committee, circulated among her students and among the children from Child & Family Studies who were attending the festival. “For our program, it’s a wonderful way to have community members come to Clark and get to appreciate the friendship we have with Japan,” she said. “I’m from Japan, and so when people understand Japanese culture, it’s wonderful for me both on a personal level and as a Japanese teacher.”

See more photos from the event on Clark’s Flickr site.

Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley