Winona State University has earned recognition as a 2020 Tree Campus USA university for the sixth year in a row by the Arbor Day Foundation.
Tree Campus Higher Education, a national program launched in 2008 by the Arbor Day Foundation, honors colleges and universities and their leaders for promoting healthy trees and engaging students and staff in the spirit of conservation. Tree Campus USA is a national program that honors colleges and universities for promoting healthy trees and engaging students and employees in conservation efforts.
To earn the designation, WSU had to meet five core standards for effective campus forest management: a tree advisory committee, a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for the campus tree program, an Arbor Day observance and student service-learning projects.
According to Jim Reynolds, co-chair for WSU’s Arboretum and Land Stewardship Committee and professor emeritus, the distinction exemplifies WSU’s commitment to creating a sustainable world.
“As a community of learners improving our world, achieving Tree Campus USA designation is important because it underscores WSU and its dedication to environmental stewardship and emphasizes the importance of trees as critical economic, health, energy, educational and aesthetic resources to the community and the planet. Trees matter at WSU,” Reynolds said.
WSU is the only four-year university in the Minnesota State system to receive the designation and only one of two of the 37 colleges and universities in the system to make the list.
Learn more about WSU’s Landscape Arboretum at http://www.winona.edu/outdoored/arboretum.asp.
For more information on this distinction, contact WSU Arboretum Director Nathan Anderson at nathan.anderson@winona.edu.
