CCU Arboretum has earned 2023 distinction through the Tree Campus Higher Education program

The Coastal Carolina University Arboretum was honored with 2023 Tree Campus Higher Education recognition by the Arbor Day Foundation for its commitment to effective urban forest management.

The Coastal Carolina University Arboretum was honored with 2023 Tree Campus Higher Education recognition by the Arbor Day Foundation for its commitment to effective urban forest management.

The Arbor Day Foundation is the world’s largest membership nonprofit organization dedicated to planting trees. Its Tree Campus Higher Education program began in 2008 to encourage colleges and universities to plant trees on their campuses.

According to the foundation, trees on campus and in urban spaces can lower energy costs by providing shade cover, cleaner air and water, and green spaces for students and faculty. In addition, trees improve students’ mental and cognitive health, provide an appealing aesthetic for campuses, and create shaded areas for studying and gathering.

“Trees not only play a vital role in the environment but also in our daily lives,” said Dan Lambe, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Having trees on college and university campuses is a great way to show a commitment to students and faculty’s overall wellbeing.”

The Tree Campus Higher Education program honors colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and engaging staff and students in conservation goals. The CCU Arboretum achieved the distinction by meeting Tree Campus Higher Education’s five standards, including maintaining a tree advisory committee, a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for its campus tree program, an Arbor Day observance, and a student service-learning project. There are 411 campuses across the United States with this recognition.

“It is incredibly exciting to see the vision of a passionate group of students blossom into a campus-wide effort with substantial impacts on student learning, campus life, community engagement and leadership, and institutional sustainability and resilience,” said Dominique Werboff, Ph.D., director of arboriculture at CCU.

To celebrate, protect, and enhance CCU’s natural heritage, the entire 322-acre main campus has been established as an arboretum – a botanical garden with a special emphasis on trees. The CCU Arboretum began in Fall 2019 with a proposal by a group of students to preserve a 1.5-acre area of campus that had over 100 native trees. By fall 2022, the arboretum was expanded to include all 322 acres of main campus, with the original area celebrated as the primary Native Species Collection. The mission of the University’s Arboretum is to be a place of education, research, discovery, and wellness for CCU students, faculty, staff, and the broader community, and to be a leader in ecological restoration for the region. CCU has a comprehensive public-facing tree inventory of more than 2,400 trees and offers a variety of experiential learning opportunities for our students as well as a range of community outreach and engagement activities.

Written by Dominique Werboff, director of arboriculture.