Tree Campus USA
Becoming a Tree Campus USA is a great accomplishment for any college and community. The Arbor Day Foundation put together the Tree Campus USA program to promote tree planting, provide schools with the opportunity to receive grants, save energy and finances, and to beautify the campus itself. There are many benefits to this great program.
5 Tree Campus USA Standards to becoming and continuing status of Tree Campus USA.
- There must be a Campus Tree Advisory Committee made up of students, facility, and members of the community. This committee will meet together to go over plans on how the school needs to continue its involvement in being a Tree Campus USA member.
- There should be a Tree Campus Plan in place that clearly states its purpose, a responsible authority that makes sure the plan is carried through, policies for planting on the campus, protecting and preserving the policies, making goals and meeting targets, and assessment of any tree damage.
- The campus must allocate finances for its annual campus tree program
- There must be a yearly Arbor Day Observance to educate the community on the benefits of trees
- Service Learning Project, this is to get students involved and volunteer to help plant trees and/or maintain trees on the campus
We know the great importance of the Arbor Day Tree Campus USA program and love to be involved as much as we can. In the past, we have helped plant trees to meet colleges Arbor Day Observance Standard. Partnering with Waubonsee Community College, Sugar Grove campus is one of our favorites. Each year Waubonsee Community College invites us to attend their Arbor Day observation. We take this opportunity to educate those in attendance about the many benefits of trees. In 2016, we planted an Autumn Blaze Maple with the administration of the College. This was a great opportunity to make the administration aware of why it is so important to budget tree planting and care and to explain the importance of the Tree Campus USA program. 2017, many elementary school students came to the campus to help plant 6+ trees along a berm to beautify the maintenance shed on campus. It was great to teach these young minds all about trees and watch their excitement while they became hands on.
We are always looking for ways to become involved in Tree Campus USA standards. For more information on the Arbor Day Foundation Tree Campus USA, Click Here.
Tree City USA
Being a Tree City USA is very similar to a Tree Campus USA. There are 4 core standards for achieving a Tree City USA acknowledgment.
- Having a Tree Board or Department
- Implementing a Tree Care Ordinance
- Generating an Annual Budget of a least $2 Per Capita
- An Annual Arbor Day Observance and Proclamation
