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Center for Sustainability
Santa Clara University

Tree Campus

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Students planting a tree on Arbor Day

Tree Campus USA is a title recognizing colleges and universities across the U.S.A. that effectively manage their campus trees to develop healthy, urban forests, while also engaging the student population through service-learning and forestry efforts.  SCU has been a Tree Campus USA every year since 2016 through 2020. We host an Arbor Day event each year and several data collection sessions to monitor SCU’s trees through a program called Tree Trackers.

Santa Clara University has been Tree Campus USA certified since 2016. There are 5 standards we need to meet in order to qualify:
 
1. Campus Tree Advisory Committee: meets 2-3 times a year to provide guidance for future plantings, approve the Campus Tree Care Plan, and foster an environment to educate and connect with community members through urban forestry. We have representatives from the student body, faculty, facilities, and an arborist to represent the community.
 
2. Campus Tree Care Plan: a goal-setting guide that provides specific details about the planting, maintenance, and removal of trees. View SCU's Tree Care Plan 2017.
 
3. Campus Tree Program with Dedicated Annual Expenditures: a spreadsheet to determine where funds are allocated for the annual campus tree program. 
 
4. Arbor Day Observance: a day to educate the community about the importance of trees on campus and celebrate all the amazing things they do.
 
5. Service Learning Project: opportunities to engage the student body with trees on campus: Tree Plantings, SCU Gone Wild, Tree Inventory

Lauren Hewitt, Environmental Science, Class of 2021, Center for Sustainability Buildings and Grounds Intern

Dr. Virginia Matzek, Associate Professor, Environmental Studies and Sciences

Linda Hylkema, Cultural Resources Management, Director

Chris Young, Buildings and Grounds, Assistant Director, Facilities

Gary Vargas, Landscape Maintenance Supervisor, Facilities

Eddy Medal,  Landscape Technician, Facilities

Lindsey Kalkbrenner, Center for Sustainability, Director

Katherine Naegele, I.S.A. Certified Arborist, ISA Tree Ris Assessment Qualified, Consulting Arborist at Anderson's Tree Care Specialists, Inc.

Katharine Rondthaler, Center for Sustainability, Forge Garden Manager