In 1990, Scott Hantman, the chair of the Environmental Issues Committee, developed the idea of Aggie Replant to help counteract the effects of the annual bonfire on the environment.
In the spring of 1991, Scott, along with 40 volunteers, including many bonfire leaders, planted a few hundred trees in the Bryan and College Station community. The following fall, Replant was recognized as an official Aggie tradition by the Texas A&M Tradition’s Council.
In 1992, Aggie Replant departed from the Environmental Issues Committee to become a separate committee in the Student Government Association.
Until 1999, Replant Day was held in the spring; however, the low survival rate of the trees was a concern. After much debate, Replant Day was moved to the fall, and the survival rates of the young trees increased to an estimated 90%!
In 2009, Replant Day was one of the largest student-run environmental service projects in the country, hosting over 1,200 Aggie student volunteers, who planted over 300 trees on the Texas A&M University campus and in the cities of Bryan and College Station.
2010 was the inaugural year for residential sites. Aggie Replant planted at twelve different private sites that were able to accommodate ten or more trees, as well as many parks in the Bryan and College Station area. Over 1,400 Aggies participated in the planting of nearly 400 trees. Given the success and popularity of the private planting sites, Aggie Replant decided to continue this initiative for Replant Day 2011.
During 2011 and 2012, Aggie Replant helped Texas A&M University become recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree Campus USA program. Additionally, Aggie Replant works with Keep Brazos Beautiful to increase community outreach and build awareness of tree planting throughout our community. Our goal is simple: we plan to give back.
In February of 2013, Aggie Replant became the first university to join the Lost Pines Forest Recovery Campaign. For the first time, Aggie Replant left the Bryan and College Station area to help Bastrop State Park recover from the devastating forest fires of 2011. The Aggie Replant committee and 468 A&M student volunteers planted more than 9,000 pine saplings across two weekends.
Replant Day 2016 saw the Aggie Replant committee plant 496 trees.
2017 was the last year for the Lost Pines recovery campaign. Aggie Replant and the volunteers they brought were responsible for planting 45,000 pine seedlings over a 5 year period.
In 2018, Aggie Replant participated in the Trees For The Blanco campaign. Approximately 45 students traveled to the Blanco River just north of San Marcos in February to plant 1600 seedlings in one day. This trip is part of a larger conservation effort led by TreeFolks to replant the banks of the Blanco River following the Memorial Day Floods of 2015.
In 2023, Aggie Replant had its largest event. In total planting 1419 trees with a total of over 850 student volunteers. Replant planted at 48 sites, including residential properties, parks, wildlife centers, and Aggieland Safari.