IUPUC was honored with 2021 Tree Campus Higher Education recognition by the Arbor Day Foundation for its commitment to effective urban forest management.
The Arbor Day Foundation is the world’s largest membership nonprofit organization dedicated to planting trees. Its Tree Campus Higher Education program began in 2008 to encourage colleges and universities to plant trees on their campuses.
Trees on campus and in urban spaces can lower energy costs by providing shade cover, cleaner air and water, and green spaces for students and faculty. In addition, trees improve students' mental and cognitive health, provide an appealing aesthetic for campuses, and create shaded areas for studying and gathering.
“Trees not only play a vital role in the environment but also in our daily lives,” said Dan Lambe, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Having trees on college and university campuses is a great way to show a commitment to students and faculty’s overall wellbeing.”
The Tree Campus Higher Education program honors colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and engaging staff and students in conservation goals. IUPUC achieved the distinction by meeting Tree Campus Higher Education’s five standards, including 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 393 campuses across the United States with this recognition.
IUPUC has planned a tree planting event on April 27, 2022 to celebrate Arbor Day. “Students, faculty, and staff will plant two redbud trees which are native to Indiana, participate in rock painting to create a rock garden around one of our more established trees, and we are giving away 100 starter trees throughout the month as part of our Arbor Day community outreach activities. As we move forward, our goal is to achieve a 40% tree canopy for the entire IUPUC campus; currently, we are at about 14% coverage,” said Naomi Cohenour, Executive Director, Office of Administration and Finance, who also manages the sustainability program at IUPUC. More information about the program is available at treecampushighered.org.
IUPUC has also created an online presence that displays the work it has been doing since 2019 in conjunction with the Tree Campus Higher Education program. For more information, visit go.iupuc.edu/treecampus.
About the Arbor Day Foundation
Founded in 1972, the Arbor Day Foundation has grown to become the largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees, with more than one million members, supporters and valued partners. Since 1972, almost 500 million Arbor Day Foundation trees have been planted in neighborhoods, communities, cities and forests throughout the world. Our vision is to lead toward a world where trees are used to solve issues critical to survival.
As one of the world's largest operating conservation foundations, the Arbor Day Foundation, through its members, partners and programs, educates and engages stakeholders and communities across the globe to involve themselves in its mission of planting, nurturing and celebrating trees. More information is available at arborday.org.