TreeCampus USA
Tree Campus USA is a program administered by the Arbor Day Foundation. It recognizes college and university campuses that effectively manage their trees, promote student involvement and develop connectivity with the surrounding community through forestry efforts. In 2011, UIC began working toward recognition under this program.
To achieve recognition, UIC must meet five standards:
- Campus Tree Advisory Committee
- Campus Tree Care Plan
- Campus Tree Program with Dedicated Annual Expenditures
- Arbor Day Observance
- Service Learning Project
An inventory was completed of UIC’s approximately 5,000 trees in the summer of 2011 using i-Tree, a program developed by the United States Forest Service. i-Tree calculates the benefits of trees, including carbon sequestration, pollutant removal and monetary value. Eventually the entire campus tree inventory and benefit data will be made available for UIC students and faculty to use.
The Campus Tree Advisory Committee has been established and will meet regularly to discuss tree-related management issues on campus. A campus tree care plan and program with expenditures has been developed to help guide the management of UIC’s campus forest into the future.
A Tree Campus USA observance/service learning project took place in mid-October, 2011 where several trees were planted around campus. Future events are posted on this page or the Office of Sustainability events calendar as they become available.
For more information on UIC’s Tree Campus USA efforts, please contact Andrew Lueck, program assistant with the UIC Office of Sustainability at alueck2@uic.edu.
More information on the Tree Campus USA program in general can be found at www.arborday.org/programs/treecampususa