ACTC recognized as Tree Campus

Published on Feb 12, 2018

Ashland Community and Technical College was honored with a 2017 Tree Campus USA recognition by the Arbor Day Foundation for its commitment to effective urban forest management.
This is the third year in a row ACTC has earned the recognition.
“Students are eager to volunteer in their communities and become better stewards of the environment,” said Matt Harris, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Participating in Tree Campus USA sets a fine example for other colleges and universities, while helping to create a healthier planet for us all.”
Paul Seasor, director of maintenance and operations at ACTC, said an effort has been made to bring native species of trees back on campus, along with removing invasive species, which will help make the campus more eco-friendly and sustainable.
“We are preserving what healthy trees we do have and when we remove an unhealthy tree, we replace it with a species that is better suited for our region, or is more disease resistant,” he said. “We are planning for the future by following our campus tree plan. This will assure we are looking toward the future of trees on campus.”
Students at ACTC are also involved with a service learning project in partnership with the City of Ashland to do a tree giveaway each April at Central Park.
“We also provide educational seminars, like the one we had last fall when we offered a free screening to students and the community of ‘Hometown Habitat,’” Seasor said.
Tree Campus USA, an Arbor Day Foundation program, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The Tree Campus USA program honors colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and for engaging staff and students in conservation goals. Ashland Community and Technical College achieved the title by meeting Tree Campus USA’s five standards, which include maintaining a tree advisory committee, a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for its campus tree program, an Arbor Day observance and student service-learning project. Currently there are 344 campuses across the United States with this recognition.
The Arbor Day Foundation has helped campuses throughout the country plant thousands of trees, and Tree Campus USA colleges and universities invested more than $48 million in campus forest management last year. More information about the program is available at arborday.org/TreeCampusUSA.
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.