USU Once Again Honored for Tree Commitment

For the second year in a row, Utah State University has received Tree Campus USA® recognition.  Tree Campus USA, a national program launched in 2008 by the Arbor Day Foundation and Toyota Motor North America, Inc., honors colleges and universities and their leaders for promoting healthy trees and engaging students and staff in the spirit of conservation.
Nat Frazer, chair of the USU Sustainability Council, says that USU should feel proud to have achieved this distinction.
 
“This recognition is a reflection of our sustained commitment to environmental stewardship at USU,” said Frazer. “We are constantly striving for carbon neutrality through our practices and policies and this designation validates those efforts.”
 
USU has successfully met the five core standards for sustainable campus forestry required by the program. These include 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.
 
According to Robert Reeder, director of USU landscape operations, the recent planting of trees helped to satisfy the standards for the recognition.
 
“We have generously received a donation of over 20 trees from Dr. Larry Rupp and Dr. Roger Kjelgren from the Greenville Farm on the north end of campus,” said Reeder. “Dr. Rupp’s class planted the ‘big tooth’ maples which are indigenous to this area and should do well in the micro climate of the south facing slope of Old Main Hill once they are established.”
 
USU campus has a wide range of tree types used for forestry and horticultural education as well as for esthetics and environmental benefits. Besides many common and Utah native species, the campus also includes some unusual species like several pistachios, a monkey-puzzle or Araucaria tree, an umbrella pine, and Utah’s largest white spruce and Norway maple.
 
“We have a great diversity of trees that are a vital component of our campus infrastructure and landscaping,” says Mike Kuhns, USU professor of Forestry and extension forestry specialist. “That diversity is an integral component for a healthy and valuable community forest.”
 
USU actively promotes sustainability programs and policies since 2007 when President Stan Albrecht signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. Other recent sustainability projects include the installation of a thermal storage energy tank, the creation of the Carbon Offset Travel Fund and the addition of more hybrid vehicles to USU’s fleet.
To learn more about sustainability at USU, see the sustainability website. (http://sustainability.usu.edu/)