Franklin College has been recognized as a 2023 “Tree Campus Higher Education Institution” by the Arbor Day Foundation. This program recognizes higher education institutions for integrating green spaces and trees into their campuses. The award marks the 11th consecutive year Franklin College has received the honor.
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.
“Trees not only play a vital role in the environment but also in our daily lives,” Dan Lambe, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation, said in a statement on the honor. “Having trees on college and university campuses is a great way to show a commitment to students and faculty’s overall wellbeing.”
The college earned the recognition by meeting Tree Campus Higher Education’s five core criteria for effective campus forest management, including establishing a campus tree advisory committee, creating a campus tree care plan, dedicating annual expenditures for a campus tree program, observing Arbor Day, and sponsoring student service-learning projects.
“Franklin College has considerable green space, which provides faculty, staff, students, and community members with a pleasant environment for work and life,” Franklin College’s Alice Heikens, Ph.D., professor of biology, said in a statement. “In addition, by planting native species on campus, we provide habitats for animals as well as purifying the air and water.”
The college is one of 410 campuses nationwide with the distinction.
