Clarkson University was honored with 2019 Tree Campus USA® recognition by the Arbor Day Foundation for its commitment to effective urban forest management.
“Tree Campuses and their students set examples for not only their student bodies but the surrounding communities showcasing how trees create a healthier environment,” said Dan Lambe, president of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Because of Clarkson University’s participation air will be purer, water cleaner and your students and faculty will be surrounded by the shade and beauty the trees provide.”
The Tree Campus USA program honors colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and for engaging staff and students in conservation goals. Clarkson 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, an Arbor Day observance and student service-learning project. Currently, there are 385 campuses across the United States with this recognition.
“The Tree Campus USA program has encouraged us to really value our canopy and to become more strategic in our relationship with campus trees. In 2019 Clarkson planted 68 trees and spent hundreds of hours on planting, maintenance, and removing unhealthy trees. We also carried out an iTree analysis of our campus canopy to better understand the environmental benefits that our trees provide for us. We are moving along towards our first goal in our tree care plan of having a healthy and bio-diverse tree canopy,” said Alex French, Sustainability Coordinator.
“The Clarkson Tree Committee that was formed as part of our effort at becoming a Tree Campus has been a real model for how students, faculty, administrators, and facilities & services can work together to manage our campus trees with a common goal of beauty and ecological health of the Clarkson campus. It has gotten students involved in the planning and maintenance of campus green spaces, and led to the sharing of information between our facilities staff and scientists about what trees to plant and how to keep them healthy,” said Professor Tom Langen, Interim Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences.
The Arbor Day Foundation has helped campuses throughout the country plant thousands of trees, and Tree Campus USA colleges and universities invested more than $51 million in campus forest management last year. This work directly supports the Arbor Day Foundation’s Time for Trees initiative — an unprecedented effort to plant 100 million trees in forests and communities and inspire 5 million tree planters by 2022. Last year, Tree Campus USA schools have collectively planted 34,515 trees and engaged 33,432 tree planters — helping us work toward these critical goals.
More information about the program is available at arborday.org/TreeCampusUSA.About the Arbor Day Foundation: The Arbor Day Foundation is a million-member nonprofit conservation and education organization with the mission to inspire people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees. More information is available at arborday.org.
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