Hollins University has received the Arbor Day Foundation’s 2016 Tree Campus USA® recognition for the institution’s commitment to efficient urban forest management.
“Students are eager to volunteer in their communities and become better stewards of the environment,” said Matt Harris, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Participating in Tree Campus USA sets a fine example for other colleges and universities, while helping to create a healthier planet for us all.”
Tree Campus USA is a national program created in 2008 by the Arbor Day Foundation to honor colleges and universities for effective campus forest supervision and for engaging staff and students in conservation goals. Hollins achieved the title by meeting Tree Campus USA’s five standards, which include maintaining a tree advisory committee; developing a campus tree-care plan; dedicating annual expenditures for its campus tree program; holding an Arbor Day observance; and conducting a student service-learning project. Currently there are 296 campuses across the United States with this recognition.
Anna Copplestone, a coordinator in the information technology department at Hollins, helped spearhead the Tree Campus USA designation. “Our campus has always appreciated the natural beauty of its trees, but through this project, many people came together to demonstrate measurable and significant ways in which they physically benefit our environment. Understanding how we interact with our natural surroundings, even passively, is how we come to value and protect them. Hollins has shown its commitment to long-term sustainability efforts, and I hope Hollins continues to earn Tree Campus USA recognition in the years to come.”
Professor of French Annette Sampon-Nicolas, who chairs Hollins’ Environmental Advisory Board, added, “I am thrilled that Hollins is part of the Tree Campus USA program, and so grateful to Anna Copplestone for her dedication and passion for trees. She made it happen. Hollins’ beautiful trees will continue to be well managed, and the Hollins community is committed to fostering urban forests beyond our campus borders.”
Hollins will officially celebrate the designation during its Arbor Day observance on April 28. Highlights will include the placing of the Tree Campus USA plaque on campus, a tree planting, and a screening of the documentary, City of Trees.
The Garden Club of Virginia extended its congratulations to Hollins in this letter to President Nancy Gray.
The Arbor Day Foundation has helped campuses throughout the country plant thousands of trees, and Tree Campus USA colleges and universities invested more than $46.7 million in campus forest management last year. More information about the program is available here.
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