ICC has been honored with a “2022 Tree Campus Higher Education” recognition by the Arbor Day Foundation. The Tree Campus Higher Education program honors colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and engaging staff and students in conservation goals.
“It is truly an honor to receive this recognition from the Arbor Day Foundation,” said David Adams, Vice President for Student Affairs. “I believe that strategically focusing on campus green spaces can have a positive impact on mental health and the overall campus vibe.”
ICC achieved the title by meeting Tree Campus Higher Education’s five standards, including maintaining a tree advisory committee, a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for its campus tree program, an Arbor Day observance, and a student service-learning project. Currently, there are 403 campuses across the United States with this recognition.
“Keeping this recognition is a result of collaborative work across disciplines that we value here at ICC. We have many tree-related projects in long-term planning, “explains Bridget Carson Advisory Committee Co-Chair. “In addition to caring for the trees that are here and strategically adding trees to our campus for shade and beauty, we are also working toward removing invasive species like Callery and Bradford Pears.”
“Our Arbor Day Campus status gives us access to tools to help us calculate and communicate the benefits to our campus in how trees provide reduced cooling costs and improve both water management and biodiversity on our campus,” concluded Carson. “While many trees are labeled, most are not, so we will continue our tree inventory and work toward an interactive map of campus plantings. And on our beautiful campus, our trees especially provide us the opportunity for campus-as-classroom interdisciplinary creating opportunities for service learning projects in the works in both the Biology and the Business & Computing disciplines. ICC is both honored and excited to continue being an Arbor Day Campus."