Trees: At University Park, they’re good!

Penn State’s commitment to caring for its greenery has once again earned it the Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree Campus USA designation. The Tree Campus USA program began in 2008 to “help colleges and universities across the country establish and sustain community forests,” according to the Arbor Day Foundation’s website.

One may be reluctant to adopt the phrase community forest in place of, say, “urban scape scattered with trees.” However, with more than 17,000 trees, University Park is much more deserving of the former title.

To achieve Tree Campus USA honors, an accredited institution must meet five core standards for effective campus forest management: maintaining a tree advisory committee, a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for its campus tree program, Arbor Day observance, and the sponsorship of student-service learning projects.

Together, schools involved with the program have spent more than $48 million on campus forest management last year alone.

“It is a tremendous honor to once again receive Tree Campus USA recognition from the Arbor Day Foundation,” Bill Sitzabee, associate vice president and chief facilities officer, said in a release. “The university and its faculty, staff, and students take great pride in our beautiful campus and the urban forest we maintain.”

Tree-hugging Penn Staters can find out about every type of tree in the university’s canopy here. You can even search trees by location, so you can stop by and hug every single one on Arbor Day, April 27.