The landscaping at Fountain Plaza contributes to WMU’s Tree Higher Education Award.
Western Michigan University has again been recognized with the Tree Campus Higher Education Award presented by the Arbor Day Foundation. This is the fifteenth year that WMU has received this award.
This award focuses on the sustainability of trees on campus within five standards. These standards include establishing a tree advisory committee, demonstrating a tree care plan, reviewing the plan’s annual expenses, complying with Arbor Day, and creating a service-learning project aimed at engaging the student body.
Only 411 universities received this honor. WMU was one of the first to receive the award and is the twelfth university to receive it following the award’s inception in 2008.
WMU is one of only nine Michigan universities to hold this title.
“Western is really pushing for this award,” said Mark Frever, director of landscape services at Facilities Management. “And of course we will continue to strive for it.”
To become a Tree Campus Higher Education Award winner, the school must maintain a tree care plan that details the university’s plans for on-campus agriculture. Such plans include how trees will be planted, where they will be planted, and prohibited actions against trees.
“Any time you notice a tree surrounded by fences in a development area, it’s on purpose,” Frever said. “It’s all part of the tree care plan. We are doing what we can to protect the trees.”
Students play a special role in protecting the trees and earn this honor by treating nature around them with respect.
“Students play a big part in that,” Frever said. “By taking care of the trees and not damaging them, so much is being done to protect them.”
Two notable names to be credited with this award are Darrell Jenkins, Landscape Supervisor, and Dr. Todd Barkman, Professor of Biology. Jenkins supports campus actions and creates the application for the Arbor Day Foundation, while Barkman serves as a large part of the Tree Advisory Committee.
“The Arbor Day Foundation sets the standards for us, but it really takes a lot of people behind the scenes to make that happen,” Frever said. “To get this award, we really need to work together between the business side of the university and the academic side. These two people in particular really build a bridge to the overarching goal of receiving the award.”
Arbor Day is celebrated on the last Friday of April, a day celebrating trees by the Arbor Day Foundation. In 2022, WMU celebrated Arbor Day with a tree planting ceremony for students, faculty, and staff.
People interested in learning more about the WMU tree care plan can view details Here.
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