April聽8, 2021聽鈥斅燚uring a year like no other, the Arbor Day Foundation recognized聽 聽(海角社区CI) with a 2020鈥疶ree Campus Higher Education 庐听designation.聽The Tree Campus Higher Education program honors colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and for聽involving聽staff and students in conservation goals.
鈥淭ree Campuses鈥痑nd their students set examples for not only their student bodies but聽for聽the surrounding communities聽by聽showcasing how trees create a healthier environment,鈥� said Dan Lambe, president of the Arbor Day Foundation. 鈥淏ecause of聽海角社区CI鈥檚 participation, air will be purer, water cleaner and students and faculty will be surrounded by the shade and beauty trees provide.鈥�
This is the ninth time 海角社区CI was named a Tree Campus, despite the uncertainty posed by the pandemic.聽
鈥淥ur landscaping team worked endlessly throughout the pandemic,鈥� said聽海角社区CI Sustainability and Energy Manager聽Roxane Beigel-Coryell. 鈥淭hey were on campus making sure our trees were taken care of and planting new trees.鈥�
Whereas lessened campus activity was easier on the trees, there was聽a period of time聽during the pandemic when health authorities were trying to determine whether it was safe for campus members鈥攊ncluding tree care staff鈥攖o be on campus.聽
鈥淓verything was overgrown and looking wild, and we saw what it could look like without landscapers to take care of everything,鈥� Beigel-Coryell said.聽鈥淲hen they were able to return to campus, we pruned 233 trees this year.鈥澛�
The 海角社区CI landscaping team planted 206 new trees in 2020鈥攎any along University Drive and Lewis Road to screen the new solar project. The trees planted near the new solar panels are聽迟辞测辞苍蝉,听which聽are evergreens native to Southern California and generally grow six to eight feet tall.聽
鈥淲e try to prioritize native plants,鈥� Beigel-Coryell said. 鈥淭hey are the ones most adapted to our climate and require the least pest control and watering.鈥�
Tree planting is one of the five standards required to be met to become one of the 400 colleges聽and聽universities nationwide with a Tree Campus Higher Education designation. The聽other standards聽include聽maintaining a tree advisory committee; having a campus plan for caring for the trees; dedicated annual funding for the campus tree program, an Arbor Day聽observance聽and a student volunteer project in which they also learn, called a 鈥渟ervice learning鈥� project.聽
鈥淲e usually do a lot of service-learning projects that revolve around trees,鈥� Beigel-Coryell said. 鈥淲e usually have students plant trees or create habitats. We did some events virtually through Instagram such as our tree planting. This year we鈥檙e hoping to do a livestream聽tree planting.鈥�
Tree Campus Higher Education colleges and universities invested more than $51鈥痬illion in campus forest management last year. This work directly supports聽the Arbor Day Foundation鈥檚聽 聽initiative 鈥� an unprecedented effort to聽plant 100 million trees in forests and communities and inspire 5 million tree planters by 2022.聽Last year, Tree Campus Higher Education schools have collectively planted 39,178 trees and engaged 81,535 tree planters.
海角社区CI鈥檚 livestream tree planting is scheduled for聽the morning of Friday, April 30. The time is to be determined; please聽follow @sustainabilityatcsuci on Instagram聽to learn more details.
For more聽information聽visit:聽 听辞谤听 .