Half-million Trees Planted in Georgia with Funds Provided by the Arbor Day Foundation

The Georgia Forestry Commission has planted more than half a million trees in wildfire-ravaged south Georgia with funds provided by the Arbor Day Foundation.

As part of a wildfire restoration project in Dixon Memorial State Forest, 509,555 pine trees have been planted on a 4,500-acre tract of upland pine habitat that was destroyed by the historic spring wildfires of 2007. Both longleaf and slash pine trees are being reinstated. The project enhances the restoration of Georgia's native longleaf pines, which have declined by 80 percent since 1955. Less than a half million acres of longleaf pine habitat remain throughout the state.

The Arbor Day Foundation is the largest nonprofit tree-planting organization in the United States, with nearly one million members. The Foundation plants and distributes more than 10 million trees each year.

"Thanks to the generosity of our members and great partners and friends, we are able to work with the Georgia Forestry Commission on this extensive tree-planting project in Dixon Memorial State Forest," said Dan Lambe, vice president of programs for the Arbor Day Foundation. "These trees will help restore a native species to the area, provide vital habitat for wildlife, and clean the air and water for Georgians."

Dixon Memorial State Forest is located in Southern Georgia near Waycross, and is the fourth largest Wildlife Management Area in the state. The forest covers more than 35,000 acres and includes both swampland and pine timberland.

"The Arbor Day Foundation's contribution enables us to restore healthy forests on wildfire-devastated lands that otherwise could not be accomplished with severely limited state funds," said Robert Farris, Director of the Georgia Forestry Commission. "The citizens of Georgia directly benefit from our multi-faceted partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation, as together we maintain healthy, sustainable forests that are providing clean air, clean water, and abundant forest products for generations to come."

This year, the Arbor Day Foundation is working with partners to plant trees in more than 10 states and territories in the United States. Since 1989, the Arbor Day Foundation has worked with the U.S. Forest Service to plant trees in America's national forests. Since then, the Foundation has helped to plant more than 12 million trees in national forests that have been devastated by wildfire, insects and disease.

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Arbor Day Foundation Honors 29 Colleges and Universities in Tree Campus USA's Inaugural Class

Twenty-nine schools from across the United States earned Tree Campus USA status from the nonprofit Arbor Day Foundation for their dedication to campus forestry management and environmental stewardship. The 29 schools recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation make up the initial Tree Campus USA class.

Tree Campus USA is a new national program launched by the Arbor Day Foundation and aims to honor colleges and universities that engage in best tree-care and sustainability practices. The launch of the Tree Campus USA program was supported by a generous grant from Toyota.

"We are proud to recognize the first 29 colleges and universities to be honored as a Tree Campus USA school," said John Rosenow, chief executive and founder of the Arbor Day Foundation. "These schools have made a major commitment to protecting, caring for and adding to their campus forest, and the results of this commitment will have a lasting, positive impact not only on campus but in the overall community."

Colleges and universities who earned Tree Campus USA status were: Albany Technical College; Arizona State; California State University, Fresno; Creighton; Duke; Furman; Georgia Tech; Gwinnett Technical College; Illinois State; Indiana State; Indiana University Bloomington; Jackson State; Kent State; Macon State; Nebraska Wesleyan; Northern Kentucky; Northland College; Oregon State; Southeastern (N.C.) Community College; University of California, Davis; University of California, San Diego; University of Maryland; University of Michigan; University of Nebraska-Lincoln; University of North Texas; University of South Carolina Upstate; University of Texas, Austin; Virginia Tech; and Western Michigan.

Tree Campus USA is modeled after the Arbor Day Foundation's Tree City USA program. Since its inception in 1976, Tree City USA has had a powerful impact resulting in more trees and better tree care in more than 3,300 communities nationwide.

Tree Campus USA creates opportunities for college campuses to work with the greater community through tree-care management practices. The program also provides a hands-on way for students to care for their local environment through tree-related events.

To receive Tree Campus USA recognition, schools are required to meet five core standards of tree care and community engagement. Those standards are: establishing a campus tree advisory committee; evidence of a campus tree-care plan; verification of dedicated annual expenditures on the campus tree-care plan; involvement in an Arbor Day observance; and the institution of a service-learning project aimed at engaging the student body.

"Connecting students with tree-planting opportunities on campus will create healthier communities for people to enjoy for generations to come," Rosenow said. "Tree Campus USA will teach students the many benefits trees provide our communities, and the students will leave school and go out and plant trees where they work and live."

The Arbor Day Foundation and Toyota launched the Tree Campus USA program last fall by planting nearly 1,000 trees at nine college campuses throughout the nation.

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Georgia Tech Named Tree Campus USA

Georgia Tech’s commitment to environmental best practices received a boost as the Institute was recognized for its planting and managing of campus trees.

The Arbor Day Foundation designated Tech a Tree Campus USA on Nov. 18. Tech is the 10th institution awarded this distinction for best practices in campus forestry, and is the first in the state of Georgia.

Hyacinth Ide, landscape manager with Facilities, received the award Nov. 18 in Atlanta at the Partners in Community Forestry Conference. Ide’s staff works to not only maintain and replace, but also increase the roughly 6,000 trees across Tech’s campus.

The criteria requires five core standards for institutions seeking award consideration: a campus tree advisory committee, a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures on the plan, involvement in an Arbor Day observance and institution of a service-learning project to engage students.

To achieve the goals set in the 2006 Campus Landscape Master Plan, Facilities established the Institute’s Campus Tree Care Plan in September. These goals include a 55 percent tree canopy, 22 percent woodlands coverage area, managing the impact of development and construction on campus trees, and ensuring proper removal and adequate replacement of trees.

“The reason our [designation] went so fast is that we were already doing most of this,” Ide said. He applied for the designation in October.

The committee membership overseeing this plan is comprised of students, area neighborhood representatives and members across several Institute departments—Facilities, Housing, Capital Planning and Space Management, Parking and Transportation, the Center for Geographical Information Systems and the School of Biology.

Tech must reapply annually to retain the Tree Campus USA designation.

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