Squirrel picnic tables pop up around campus

This fall, Utah State University students have noticed something unusual tucked along walkways and near trees: tiny wooden picnic tables designed just for squirrels. Painted in Aggie Blue and topped with colorful umbrellas, the tables have quickly become a playful campus icon. 

The tables, which seat no more than a squirrel or two, appeared quietly before the semester began. Over the weeks, students stumbled upon them stocked with peanuts, often pausing to take photos or share the discovery on social media. Soon, the miniature furniture gained a following of its own through an Instagram account @ususquirrelsquad dedicated to their care and maintenance. 

The creator of the squirrel tables, who asked to remain anonymous, said the idea started as a hobby project in their woodshop. What began as a single blue prototype soon became a set of four tables, each topped with an umbrella. 

“I had been testing the blue prototype in a couple of different locations and finally gotten a squirrel to be enjoying the one near the ELSC,” the creator wrote in a message to The Utah Statesman. “When the students came back to campus for fall semester, I was really enjoying watching them find it.” 

The lighthearted project took a turn when the first table suddenly disappeared. 

“Then one day, the second week of school, I went out to fill the feeder and it was gone,” the creator wrote. 

This turn of events brought all sorts of people together in an attempt to get the table back. Many students on social media and even the USU Campus Store helped to get the table returned. 

The table did come back — the umbrella was slightly damaged but intact. Yet soon after, another went missing near the Quad, discouraging the creator who had hoped the tables would simply spread joy. 

“I just don’t understand why anyone would just pick it up and walk off with it,” the creator wrote. 

Whitney Boudrero, senior director of alumni engagement at USU, said she immediately saw potential for the tables to become a symbol of Aggie pride. She is a close friend of the project’s creator and suggested one key design feature: the Block A base. 

“It just kind of hit me one day because this person is — has the most Aggie pride, always wearing navy blue. And it just really embodies that Aggie family spirit,” Boudrero said. “If you’re going to do these, I think they’re going to become an icon on campus. Could you do them with a Block A underneath?” 

Boudrero said she has been encouraged to see students embrace the tables, even though the project is not an official university initiative. 

“Anytime Aggies come up with ideas, I think some great things happen,” she said. “Sometimes, when students create things that are unofficial, others come along just because there’s not that pressure of it being an official organization or event.” 

For her, the squirrel-sized furniture is more than a novelty. 

“Following the dark times that have kind of happened in the news, it’s really been a bright little light on our campus that just brings a little spirit of joy,” Boudrero said.  

The anonymous creator said each table takes careful effort. The first prototype took two weeks to build, but with templates in place, newer versions can be made in about a week. Scrap wood, nails, glue and paint form the structure while small umbrellas ordered online add a final flourish. 

“I have a wood shop for my hobby project and was able to use scraps to build each table,” the creator wrote. “It really is as simple at cutting the pieces to the right lengths and angles, using nails and glue to fix them together, and then painting them Aggie True Blue and Fighting White.” 

Since the project began, the creator said they have received dozens of messages from students saying how much the tables brightened their days. 

A squirrel looks for nuts in a tree outside the ESLC on Feb. 20.

“I have received sweet messages from students saying how much seeing the tables helped them feel welcomed and encouraged during their first few weeks at USU,” they wrote. “That is what Aggie Family is all about and I am thrilled to add to that in a ‘small’ but adorable way.” 

Despite missing tables, both Boudrero and the creator hope the project continues. The plan is to take the tables down when the snow comes and bring them back in the spring, much like the squirrels themselves. 

“I just think that these little tables really are just a showing of Aggie spirit and the joy that happens when we partner in community,” Boudrero said. 

For now, the miniature picnic tables remain scattered across campus, landmarks that according to Boudrero, bring a bit of whimsy in wood and paint and remind students Aggie traditions sometimes start from the smallest acts of creativity.