News
The Arbor Day Foundation Program Honors Southwestern University with a 2020 Tree Campus USA Award
September 14, 2021
September 14, 2021
Open gallery
Southwestern University was recognized as a 2020 Tree Campus USA®️ for promoting healthy trees and engaging students and staff in the spirit of conservation.
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: establishment of a tree advisory committee, evidence of a campus tree care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for its campus tree program, an Arbor Day observance, and the sponsorship of student service learning projects. Currently, there are 392 campuses across the U.S. with this recognition.
“Over the past year, many have been reminded of the importance of nature to our physical and mental health. Your campus trees provide spaces of refuge and reflection to students, staff, faculty, and the community,” says Dan Lambe, president of the Arbor Day Foundation.
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 26,562 trees and engaged 30,693 tree planters—helping the Arbor Day Foundation work toward these critical goals.
