Bard Campus Recognized by Arbor Day Foundation

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—Bard College is one of 114 colleges and universities in the United States to have earned the 2010 status of Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation. In 2009, Bard College was named a Tree Campus USA and is being honored again for 2010. Bard’s recognition, along with other communities honored as Tree Cities, Tree Campuses, or Tree Lines USA, will be celebrated in a ceremony to be held on Friday, April 1, at the Albany Holiday Inn Express, 300 Broadway, Albany, New York.

On Friday, April 29, Bard is hosting an Arboretum Open House in the Bertlesmann Campus Center, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and an Arbor Day Celebration and Tree Planting Ceremony on Kline Lawn at 2 p.m. Free and open to the public, these events will take place rain or shine.

Tree Campus USA program recognizes college and university campuses that effectively manage their campus trees; develop connectivity with the community beyond campus borders to foster healthy, urban forests; and strive to engage their student population, utilizing service-learning opportunities centered on campus, and community, forestry efforts. Colleges and universities across the United States are recognized as a Tree Campus USA college by meeting five core standards of tree care developed to promote healthy trees and student involvement. The five standards are: establishment of a campus tree advisory committee; evidence of a campus tree-care plan; verification of dedicated annual expenditures on the campus tree-care plan; involvement in an Arbor Day observance; and a service-learning project aimed at engaging the student body in sustainable efforts.

“As Tree Campus USA continues to grow, communities all over the country will benefit from vibrant, healthy urban forests on college campuses,” said John Rosenow, chief executive and founder of the Arbor Day Foundation. “The work being done to plant, protect, and care for the trees on these campuses will have a lasting effect on their cities and towns for years and years. Trees are a valuable resource, and planted and managed properly can clean our air, help us reduce energy usage, and add breath-taking beauty to some of the most beautiful places in our communities.”

The Arbor Day Foundation and Toyota launched the Tree Campus USA program in the fall of 2008 by planting nearly 1,000 trees at nine college campuses throughout the nation. Since then, Arbor Day and Toyota have held additional tree planting events at designated schools each fall and spring for a total of 29 of events to date. Tree Campus USA, modeled after the Arbor Day Foundation’s successful Tree City USA program, is supported by a generous grant from Toyota. Major universities, small private colleges, and schools of all sizes in between were recognized with Tree Campus USA distinction. For more information and to see a complete list of Tree Campus USA colleges and universities, go to www.arborday.org/TreeCampusUSA.

 

ABOUT ARBOR DAY AT BARD
Learn about the Landscape and Arboretum Program at Bard College and pick up FREE tree information and brochures; learn about horticultural classes with the New York Botanical Gardens adult education program at Bard; take home FREE tree seeds; purchase locally made tree t-shirts and bags; and learn how to become a Friend of the Arboretum. Join us for a ceremonial tree planting on the historic “Elm Walk” (between Stone Row and the Chapel). Rain or shine. All faculty, staff, students, and community members are welcome.

The Landscape and Arboretum Program at Bard College enhances the aesthetic, educational, and public services of the College, and promotes plant conservation and preservation of the essential character of the landscape. Bard’s 540-acre campus, in the heart of New York’s Hudson River Valley, is rich in history and full of natural beauty. The campus has long been recognized for its spectacular gardens and superb collection of living trees and plants—many of the Valley’s most notable trees are located at Bard. The Landscape and Arboretum Program was formed with the charge of preserving and cultivating the horticultural assets of the campus, and opening the door to horticultural education, outreach, and research.

For more information, please contact the Arboretum Office at 845-752-LEAF (5323), e-mail [email protected], or visit http://inside.bard.edu/arboretum.

This event was last updated on 04-06-2011

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