Press release from Haywood Community College:
Haywood Community College was honored with 2017 Tree Campus USA® recognition by the Arbor Day Foundation for its commitment to effective urban forest management. The College recently held a tree planting ceremony on campus in recognition of this accomplishment and Arbor Day. The tree selected for the planting is a mountain silverbell (Halesia monticola). It was chosen for its beautiful, showy spring flowers and lovely bark characteristics as it ages. “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, an Arbor Day Foundation program, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The Tree Campus USA program honors colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and for engaging staff and students in conservation goals. Haywood Community College 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 344 campuses across the United States with this recognition.
District ranger for the North Carolina Forest Service and HCC forestry graduate Matthew Hooper presented the award to the College. At the presentation, Hooper said “It is the commitment to the campus environment that has earned Haywood Community College its designation as a Tree Campus USA and reflects the dedication of the people and leaders of this college to lead by example, in care and management of its trees. On behalf of the National Arbor Day Foundation and the North Carolina Forest Service, I am pleased to present Haywood Community College with your 2017 Tree Campus USA award.”
“Receiving this recognition is a great testimony to HCC’s continued dedication to tree preservation and planting as well as to other natural resources issues,” says Dr. John Sherman, HCC program manager of natural resources. “It is wonderful that the college, already notable for its extensive campus arboretum, now has the nationally recognized status of being a Tree Campus USA member.”
The Arbor Day Foundation has helped campuses throughout the country plant thousands of trees, and Tree Campus USA colleges and universities invested over $48 million in campus forest management last year. More information about the program is available at arborday.org/TreeCampusUSA.
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