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Center for Sustainability
Santa Clara University

Tree Campus

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Students planting a tree on Arbor Day

Tree Campus USA is a title recognizing colleges and universities across the U.S.A. that effectively manage their campus trees to develop healthy, urban forests, while also engaging the student population through service-learning and forestry efforts.  SCU has been a Tree Campus USA every year since 2016 through 2022. We host an Arbor Day event each year and several data collection sessions to monitor SCU’s trees through a program called Tree Trackers.

Santa Clara University has been Tree Campus USA certified since 2016. There are 5 standards we need to meet in order to qualify:
 
1. Campus Tree Advisory Committee: meets 2-3 times a year to provide guidance for future plantings, approve the Campus Tree Care Plan, and foster an environment to educate and connect with community members through urban forestry. We have representatives from the student body, faculty, facilities, and an arborist to represent the community.
 
2. Campus Tree Care Plan: a goal-setting guide that provides specific details about the planting, maintenance, and removal of trees. View SCU's Tree Care Plan 2023.
 
3. Campus Tree Program with Dedicated Annual Expenditures: a spreadsheet to determine where funds are allocated for the annual campus tree program. 
 
4. Arbor Day Observance: a day to educate the community about the importance of trees on campus and celebrate all the amazing things they do.
 
5. Service Learning Project: opportunities to engage the student body with trees on campus: Tree Plantings, SCU Gone Wild, Tree Inventory

Chris Young, Associate Director, Facilities Operations, University Operations

Brian Bettencourt, Grounds, Waste and Fleet Supervisor, University Operations

Dave Machado, Senior Director, Facilities Operations, University Operations

Linda Hylkema, Director of Cultural Resources Management, University Operations

Lindsey Kalkbrenner, Director, Center for Sustainability

Katie Lessening, Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering ’25 and Center for Sustainability Facilities Operations Student Coordinator

Becca Nelson, Sustainable Food Systems Program Manager, Center for Sustainability

Janice Edgerly-Rooks, Professor, Biology Department

Michael Pistininzi, ISA Certified Arborist, Field Operations Manager, Our City Forest Community Nursery