MACON/ATLANTA – Mercer University is one of 385 institutions across the U.S. to receive 2019 Tree Campus USA® recognition by the Arbor Day Foundation for commitment to effective urban forest management.
“Tree Campuses and their students set examples for not only their student bodies but the surrounding communities showcasing how trees create a healthier environment,” said Dan Lambe, president of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Because of Mercer University’s participation, air will be purer, water cleaner and your students and faculty will be surrounded by the shade and beauty the trees provide.”
The Tree Campus USA program honors colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and for engaging staff and students in conservation goals.
Mercer earned this recognition by meeting Tree Campus USA’s five standards, including maintaining a tree advisory committee, a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for a campus tree program, an Arbor Day observance and a student service-learning project.
The Arbor Day Foundation has helped campuses throughout the country plant thousands of trees, and Tree Campus USA colleges and universities invested more than $51 million in campus forest management last year. This work directly supports the Arbor Day Foundation’s Time for Trees initiative, an unprecedented effort to plant 100 million trees in forests and communities and inspire 5 million tree planters by 2022.
Last year, Tree Campus USA schools collectively planted 34,515 trees and engaged 33,432 tree planters.
About the Arbor Day Foundation
The Arbor Day Foundation is a million-member nonprofit conservation and education organization with the mission to inspire people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees. More information is available at arborday.org.
