Franklin College was honored with 2015 Tree Campus USA® recognition by the Arbor Day Foundation for its commitment to effective urban forest management, marking the third consecutive year the college has received the designation.
“Students are eager to volunteer in their communities and become better stewards of the environment,” said Matt Harris, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Participating in Tree Campus USA sets a fine example for other colleges and universities, while helping to create a healthier planet for us all.”
Tree Campus USA is a national program created in 2008 by the Arbor Day Foundation and to honor colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and for engaging staff and students in conservation goals. Franklin College achieved the title by meeting Tree Campus USA’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 254 campuses across the United States with this recognition.
“Being recognized as a Tree Campus USA is quite an honor and shows the community that we are truly dedicated to maintaining our green space on campus,” says Alice Heikens, Ph.D., professor of biology, who initiated the effort in 2013. “We are one of ten college campuses in Indiana with this designation and this award is one example of our strong commitment to green initiatives that enable us to use our resources well. Our trees provide us with many benefits that range from aesthetics to ecological functions, including providing shade, reducing our greenhouse gases and supporting our abundant squirrel (and other native animal) populations.”
Trees are an important hallmark of Franklin College, and thus will be incorporated into the inauguration festivities of the college’s 16th president, Thomas J. Minar, Ph.D., on Saturday, April 9. Shortly after the conclusion of the inauguration ceremony, Minar and his spouse, Frank S. Becker, M.D., will plant a tree at the west end of Dame Mall to commemorate the event and to enhance the beauty of Franklin College.
The Arbor Day Foundation has helped campuses throughout the country plant thousands of trees, and Tree Campus USA colleges and universities invested more than $36.8 million in campus forest management last year. More information about the program is available at arborday.org/TreeCampusUSA.
About the Arbor Day Foundation: The Arbor Day Foundation is a million member nonprofit conservation and education organization with the mission to inspire people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees. More information is available at arborday.org.
For more information, contact the Franklin College Office of Marketing and Communications at (317) 738-8185.
Founded in 1834, Franklin College is a residential, liberal arts institution with a scenic, wooded campus, spanning 207 acres, including athletic fields and a 31-acre biology woodland. Students enjoy the comfort and safety of suburban living, while also experiencing the many opportunities Indianapolis has to offer with a short 20-minute drive to downtown. The college prepares students to think independently, to lead responsibly and to serve with integrity in their professions, their communities and the world. The college offers its more than 1,000 students Bachelor of Arts degrees in 51 majors from 25 academic disciplines, 42 minors, 11 pre-professional programs and five cooperative programs. In 1842, the college began admitting women, becoming the first coeducational institution in Indiana and the seventh in the nation. Franklin College maintains a voluntary association with the American Baptist Churches USA. For more information, visit www.FranklinCollege.edu. Find Franklin College on Facebook and follow @FranklinCollege on Twitter.
(Posted March 29, 2016)
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