Urbana University received 2016 Tree Campus USA recognition by the Arbor Day Foundation for its commitment to effective urban forest management.
“Students are eager to volunteer in their communities and become better stewards of the environment,” said Matt Harris, chief executive officer of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Participating in Tree Campus USA sets a fine example for other colleges and universities, while helping to create a healthier planet for us all.”
Tree Campus USA is a national program created in 2008 by the Arbor Day Foundation to recognize colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and for engaging staff and students in conservation goals.
Urbana University achieved the title by meeting Tree Campus USA’s five standards, which include maintaining a tree advisory committee, a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for its campus tree program, and Arbor Day observance and student service-learning project.
Dr. Tingting Cai, assistant professor, Sustainability, at Urbana University added, “we are very excited to receive our fifth annual Tree Campus USA designation, a much-deserved recognition for the effort contributed by our botany students. Urbana University’s botany students complete a service learning project each year to fulfill one of the five requirements, while others serve as members of the Tree Advisory Committee to help us maintain our Tree Campus status on our 128-acre campus.”
The Arbor Day Foundation has helped campuses throughout the country plant thousands of trees, and Tree Campus USA colleges and universities invested more than $46.7 million in campus forest management last year. More information about the program is available at arborday.org/TreeCampusUSA.
