University earns Tree Campus USA honor from the Arbor Day Foundation

FORT WAYNE, Ind.—Purdue University Fort Wayne has achieved the designation of Tree Campus USA from the Arbor Day Foundation for its commitment to effective urban forest management. The program recognizes colleges and universities for successful campus forest management and for engaging students and staff in conservation goals. Purdue Fort Wayne joins more than 380 campuses across the country with this distinction.

To obtain the honor, the university met the foundation’s five core standards for effective campus forest management:

• Tree advisory committee
• Campus tree-care plan
• Dedicated annual expenditures for its campus tree program
• Arbor Day observance
• Student service-learning project

“This is great achievement for both our students and campus,” noted Tad Smith, director of grounds. “This will give our students educational opportunities to learn about the approximately 10,000 trees we have on our nearly 700-acre campus. We are proud that this honor also helps us showcase our sustained commitment to environmental stewardship.”

In spite of restrictions the COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated on campus, the facilities management department did observe Arbor Day by planting more than 70 trees over the past few weeks. The new plantings include species such as Ann Magnolia, Dogwood, Redbud, Scotch Pine, and Umbrella Magnolia, to name just a few.

As part of Tree Campus USA’s goals, Purdue Fort Wayne has also started taking an electronic inventory of all the trees on campus.

"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 Purdue University Fort Wayne'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 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 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.

For more information about the trees on the Purdue Fort Wayne campus, visit Native Trees of Indiana River Walk.

For more information about the Tree Campus USA program, visit Tree Campus USA.

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