Continuing care of campus trees

EOU named 2017 Tree Campus USA

EOU President Tom Insko (right) joins David Yoder (left) at the 2017 celebration of being named a Tree Campus USA.

April 24, 2018 LA GRANDE, Ore. –  Effective urban forest management has garnered Eastern Oregon University recognition for the second consecutive year as a Tree Campus USA from the Arbor Day Foundation.

The university will celebrate this honor on Arbor Day, April 27, on campus in La Grande. Leaders will gather at the flagpole on University Boulevard beneath the Tree Campus USA flag, and plant a tree along the avenue.

David Yoder, campus grounds crew member and ISA certified arborist, champions the cultivation of EOU’s urban forest and convened the tree advisory committee responsible for devising a long-term plan.

“Without the Arbor Day Foundation, there is no event like this, and the Oregon Department of Forestry has been so supportive in helping us move through the process,” Yoder said.

EOU is one of six universities in Oregon to meet Tree Campus USA standards. The institution must maintain 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.

The designation also aligns with EOU’s strategic goals to provide and maintain a campus that promotes a thriving university community. Created in 2008 to honor colleges and universities for effective campus forest management, the national program encourages staff and students to engage in conservation projects.

“By earning Tree Campus USA recognition, your campus has shown its commitment to protecting and preserving its valuable tree resources and will reap their benefits for generations of students to come,” Arbor Day Foundation President Dan Lamb said.

The Arbor Day Foundation has helped nearly 300 schools throughout the country plant thousands of trees last year.

Community members are welcome to attend the Arbor Day observance, beginning at 10 a.m., April 27 by the flagpole next to Badgley Hall.

For more information about the program, visit arborday.org/TreeCampusUSA.