News
The Arbor Day Foundation Program Honors Southwestern University with a 2019 Tree Campus USA Award
January 22, 2020
January 22, 2020
Open gallery
Southwestern University was honored with recognition as a 2019 Tree Campus USA®️ for its contributions to urban forest conservation.
“Tree Campuses and their students set examples for not only their student bodies but the surrounding communities showcasing how trees create a healthier environment,” says Dan Lambe, president of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Because of Southwestern 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 recognizes higher-education campuses for effective urban forest management and engaging students and staff in conservation efforts. Southwestern was honored with the achievement for meeting Tree Campus USA’s five standards: maintaining a tree advisory committee, implementing a campus tree-care plan, dedicating annual expenditures for its campus tree program, and hosting both an Arbor Day observance and a student service-learning project. Currently, there are 385 campuses across the U.S. with this recognition.
With communities all across the globe facing issues with air quality, access to clean water, and personal health, trees are more necessary than ever before, and Southwestern, along with all other recognized Tree Campuses, is doing its part to combat these global issues.
The Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit organization with over a million members dedicated to environmental education and conservation. Their mission is to inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. The foundation has aided in the planting of thousands of trees across the country, and Tree Campus USA colleges and universities have 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 collectively planted 34,515 trees and engaged 33,432 tree planters—helping the Arbor Day Foundation work toward these critical goals.
