Washington University was recently recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree Campus USA recipient for 2016. The campus is home to over 4,000 trees, with 100 plus species that include Shawnee Brave Bald Cypress, Valley Forge, Emerald Sunshine, Lacebark, Frontier, Princeton Elms, Princeton Sentry Gingko, Swamp White, Sawtooth, Willow, Swamp Chestnut, Chinkapin Oaks, Tulip Poplar, Morton Exclamation London Plane, Wildfire Black Gum, and Persian Parrotia.
The Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit conservation organization, and it launched the Tree Campus USA program in 2008. Washington University was among the first schools in Missouri to be recognized and has received the award every year since 2010. Recipients must demonstrate a commitment to healthy tree management and to engaging campus and community members on environmental stewardship. Native tree plantings took place in fall 2015 and in spring and fall 2016 to engage students, staff, and faculty in planting native species and creating more sustainable landscapes on the Danforth Campus.
Kent Theiling, WashU’s Grounds and Landscape Design Manager, will be applying for Level 1 Arboretum Status through the Morton Arboretum and completing a Sucessional Tree Planting Plan for the Danforth Campus in 2017.
For more information on the Tree Campus USA program, visit the Arbor Day Foundation website.