Franklin College earned a 2022 Tree Campus Higher Education recognition by the Arbor Day Foundation. This program honors colleges and universities and their leaders for promoting healthy trees and engaging students and staff in the spirit of conservation. This marks the tenth consecutive year Franklin College has earned the distinction.

The Arbor Day Foundation is the world’s largest membership nonprofit organization dedicated to planting trees. Its Tree Campus Higher Education program began in 2008 to encourage colleges and universities to plant trees on their campuses.

Trees on campus and in urban spaces can lower energy costs by providing shade cover, cleaner air and water, and green spaces for students and faculty. In addition, trees improve students’ mental and cognitive health, provide and appealing aesthetic for campuses, and create shaded areas for studying and gathering.

“Trees not only play a vital role in the environment but also in our daily lives,” said Dan Lambe, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Having trees on college and university campuses is a great way to show a commitment to students and faculty’s overall wellbeing.”

Franklin College achieved the distinction by meeting Tree Campus Higher Education’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 411 campuses across the United States with this recognition.

“It is such an honor to receive the Tree Campus award for ten consecutive years,” said Alice Heikens, Ph.D., professor of biology. “Franklin College is fortunate to have a collaborative team of faculty, staff, and students who work diligently to achieve the requirements. In addition to the award, the College is committed to maintaining our green space in an environmentally responsible way that benefits all of us.”

More information about the program is available at www.arborday.org/programs/tree-campus-higher-education/.

About the Arbor Day Foundation: Founded in 1972, the Arbor Day Foundation is the world’s largest membership nonprofit organization dedicated to planting trees. With a focus in communities and forests of greatest need, the Foundation — alongside its more than 1 million members, supporters and valued partners — has helped to plant nearly 500 million trees in more than 50 countries. Guided by its mission to inspire people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees, the Arbor Day Foundation is committed to unlocking the power of trees to help solve critical issues facing people and the planet. Learn more about the impact of the Arbor Day Foundation at www.arborday.org.

For more information, contact the Franklin College Office of Communications at (317) 738-8185.

POSTED Apr 26, 2023