Celebrate this Earth Day knowing your campus is dedicated to protecting and managing its beautiful trees.

The Tree Campus USA program, sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation, recognizes university campuses that:

• Effectively manage their campus trees.
• Develop connectivity with the community beyond campus borders to foster healthy, urban forests.
• Strive to engage their student population utilizing service learning opportunities centered on campus, and community forestry efforts.

SUNY Poly (Utica) received Tree Campus USA designation for meeting five standards of achievement in 2018.

• Standard 1: Establish a Campus Tree Advisory Committee comprised of members representing the diverse audience of those with a stake in campus trees is established and meets regularly.
• Standard 2: Develop a Campus Tree Care Plan that sets good policy and clear guidance for planting and removing trees, as well as guidance for protection and maintenance of trees as part of the land development process.
• Standard 3: Develop a Campus Tree Program with dedicated annual expenditures.
• Standard 4 - Hold an Arbor Day Observance to educate the campus community on the benefits of the trees on their campus property and in the community.
• Standard 5 - Conduct a service learning project.
• In 2018, SUNY Poly community members assisted with planting two flowering crab apple trees at the Alumni Overlook and completed a forest carbon inventory of our 165 acre campus forest.

More great tree-related service and learning opportunities will be offered in 2019 to continue our proud participation in the Tree Campus USA program.