The University of Mary Washington has been named a 2015 Tree Campus USA® by the Arbor Day Foundation for its work in practicing and promoting conservation on campus.
UMW fulfilled five core standards to achieve this distinction, according to the foundation. These include a tree advisory committee, a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for its campus tree program, an Arbor Day observance, and a student service-learning project. The foundation praised UMW for its “commitment to effective urban forest management.”
“Trees are vital to the health of the environment,” said Bethany Friesner, a member of UMW’s President Council of Sustainability. “The designation speaks not only to the university’s commitment to the environment, but also to the development of our campus as an arboretum.”
The President’s Council on Sustainability is a team of faculty, administration and students who help shape administrative goals regarding sustainability measures on campus. The annual RecycleMania competition and the student group UMW Ecology Club also help promote campus-wide sustainability.
The Arbor Day Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit conservation and education organization.
