With help from Ball State's grounds crew, Hall has been collecting timber from campus trees cut down during the past few years and storing it in a local warehouse to dry.

In the hands of a skilled student designer or craftsman, the scrap wood can be transformed into nice office furniture or special gifts for dignitaries.

"I would like to see a wood collection started to put these beautiful woods to good use," said Hall, who teaches sculpture courses in the Ball State Department of Art. "There are wide pieces of oak and walnut that would make an incredible table."

Construction projects are the most common reason for removing trees on campus, and most of the timber is chopped into firewood and sold to the public, said Michael Planton, Ball State's superintendent of grounds. Some of the wood is ground into mulch and then composted and used in campus landscaping.

But Hall is working to create a program in which Ball State art, architecture or practical arts students could use the dried wood from the trees for special design projects.

The timber could be crafted into furniture for the university, gifts for dignitaries and guests, and similar items.

"What I'd like to see is experienced students who are on their third or fourth wood project to submit a design proposal to use some of the wood," Hall said.

In his own work as an artist, Hall has collected nearly 8,000 board feet of scrap wood from various sources since 1979. He turns everything from tree limbs to barn beams into furniture, guitars and other sculpted pieces.

"I'm a real scavenger when it comes to my own work," Hall said with a grin. "I can't throw anything away."

He tries to work wood into his sculpture classes at Ball State. The new Art and Journalism Building under construction this year will include better facilities for woodworking.

"A number of years ago I realized that an awful lot of trees seemed to be coming down on campus," Hall said. "If these trees need to come down for whatever reason, I feel we should start collecting the wood, rather than cutting it up into firewood."

Hall began with a large ash tree removed near the Fine Arts Building a few years ago. Today some 1,800 board feet of wood valued at more than $7,000 has been stored for seasoning.

The timber includes white ash, black walnut, oak, hickory and cherry varieties. Thin pieces take a year or two to dry well, while thicker boards might require five or six years, Hall said.

Hall has asked the grounds crew to notify him whenever a tree must be cut down so he can decide if the wood should be added to the collection. Many trees in public places or people's yards contain metal that can damage woodworking equipment.

If Hall wants the timber, it is transported to Ball State's Heath Farm, and a sawyer cuts it into slabs for storing.

Planton supports the effort. Meanwhile, his grounds crew continues to plant new trees across the campus as part of Ball State's landscape/forestation plan. The goal to have 7,700 trees on campus by the year 2000 was achieved in 1990. More than 550 different types of trees can be found on the grounds today.

By Ted Buck, Communications Manager

(Note to Editors: For more information, contact Kenton Hall at (765) 285-5838 or e-mail: khall@bsu.edu.)