Clemson University named a Tree Campus USA university by Arbor Day Foundation

Published: March 14, 2011

Clemson University was named a Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation. image by: Clemson University

CLEMSON — Clemson University received Tree Campus USA recognition for its dedication to campus forestry management and environmental stewardship from the nonprofit Arbor Day Foundation. This is the first year Clemson University has been named a Tree Campus USA.

“We are delighted to be a Tree Campus USA. Clemson is a campus 'in the forest,' not just a campus with trees, and that is what makes it the very special place that it is,” said Pat Layton, director of the forestry and natural resources department in the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences.

Clemson also is the only U.S. university with a 17,500-acre forest adjacent to campus. The Clemson Experimental Forest is vital to research and educational programs in forestry management, wildlife and fisheries biology, and is a major resource for Upstate recreational activities, such as hiking and horseback riding.

Tree Campus USA is a national program that honors colleges and universities and their leaders for promoting healthy management of their campus forests and for engaging the community in environmental stewardship. Tree Campus USA is a program of the Arbor Day Foundation and is supported by a grant from Toyota.

“By encouraging its students to plant trees and participate in service that will help the environment, Clemson is making a positive impact on its community that will last for decades,” said John Rosenow, chief executive and founder of the Arbor Day Foundation. “One goal of the Tree Campus USA program is to help create healthier communities for its citizens through the planting of trees, and the city of Clemson will certainly benefit from Clemson’s commitment to Tree Campus USA.”

Clemson met the five core standards of tree care and community engagement in order to receive Tree Campus USA status.

They are:

• establishing a campus tree advisory committee;
• having evidence of a campus tree-care plan;
• providing verification of dedicated annual expenditures on the campus tree-care plan;
• being involved in an Arbor Day observance; and
• instituting a service-learning project aimed at engaging the student body.

Clemson is one of 113 colleges and universities to receive Tree Campus USA recognition for 2010. The Arbor Day Foundation launched Tree Campus USA in the fall of 2008 by planting trees at nine college campuses throughout the United States. Twenty-nine schools received the Tree Campus USA designation in 2008, and in three years the number of schools has more than tripled.

More information about the Tree Campus USA program is available at www.arborday.org/TreeCampusUSA.

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About the Arbor Day Foundation
The Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit conservation organization of more than 1 million members, with a mission to inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. More information on the Foundation and its programs can be found at www.arborday.org.