| Lincoln, Neb. January, 21, 2020 – The University of Tennessee at Knoxville was honored with 2019 Tree Campus USA® recognition by the Arbor Day Foundation for its commitment to effective urban forest management.
“Tree Campuses and their students set examples for not only their student bodies but the surrounding communities showcasing how trees create a healthier environment,” said Dan Lambe, president of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Because of The University of Tennessee at Knoxville’s participation air will be purer, water cleaner and your students and faculty will be surrounded by the shade and beauty the trees provide.” The Tree Campus USA program honors colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and for engaging staff and students in conservation goals. The University of Tennessee at Knoxville achieved the title by meeting Tree Campus USA’s five standards, which include 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 385 campuses across the United States with this recognition. “2019 was our third year as a Tree Campus USA,” said Jason Cottrell, UT’s Assistant Director for Landscape Services, “and we look forward to many more to come. The University of Tennessee is extremely proud of its arboriculture program, and the guidelines provided by the Arbor Day Foundation provide us with a pathway toward sustainability and a healthy urban forest.” The Arbor Day Foundation has helped campuses throughout the country plant thousands of trees, and Tree Campus USA colleges and universities 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 have collectively planted 34,515 trees and engaged 33,432 tree planters — helping us work toward these critical goals. More information about the program is available at arborday.org/TreeCampusUSA. About the Arbor Day Foundation: The Arbor Day Foundation is a million-member nonprofit conservation and education organization with the mission to inspire people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees. More information is available at arborday.org. For more information contact: Lauren Weyers lweyers@arborday.org 402-473-9578 ### |