UC San Diego Named “Tree Campus USA”
Site; Will Hold Tree Planting Event November 12
One hundred trees will be planted to replace those lost to storms and drought

Pat JaCoby | November 03, 2008

On Nov. 12, 100 trees will be planted on campus in recognition of UCSD's status as a Tree Campus USA site. Here students plant trees during Earth Week.

The University of California, San Diego, will hold a tree planting ceremony Nov. 12 in recognition of its designation as one of nine college campuses in the U.S. to be cited by the Arbor Day Foundation for best practices in campus forestry. The nine honored campuses were selected from 76 universities who applied for the Foundation recognition.

One hundred trees will be planted at three locations on the campus during the 11:15 a.m. event, including 40 Eucalyptus cladocalyx (sugar gum), 34 Magnolia grandiflora ‘Little Gem,’ and 26 Pinus torreyana (Torrey pine). The planting sites include the east side of the Faculty Club, where an official ceremony will take place, on the slope between Gilman Drive and I-5 freeway, and in the North Campus area around the Spanos Athletic Training Facility. The new trees replace many lost to storms and drought.

The Arbor Day Foundation designation comes through a new program, Tree Campus USA, launched to honor college campuses for promoting healthy urban forest management and engaging the campus in environmental stewardship. Tree Campus USA is supported by a grant from Toyota.

UC San Diego Chancellor Marye Anne Fox will welcome guests, accompanied by Steve Relyea, Vice Chancellor of Business Affairs, and  Russ Thackston, interim assistant vice chancellor for Auxiliary and Plant Services. Other invitees are Lynnette Short, State of California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection; Drew Potocki, Urban Forester, City of San Diego; and representatives of the International Society of Arboriculture, San Diego Regional Urban Forests Council, and the Urban Corps of San Diego County. Dozens of UC San Diego student volunteers will plant the new mixed-size trees. Tools and equipment will be provided by Landscape Services.

Volunteers will plant magnolias, sugar gum trees and Torrey pines.

Sam Oludunfe, campus urban forester in Landscape Services, said UC San Diego met the required five core standards of tree care and community engagement in order to receive Tree Campus USA status. Those standards are: establishment of a campus tree advisory committee, evidence of a campus tree-care plan, verification of dedicated annual expenditures on the campus tree plan, involvement in an Arbor Day observance and the institution of a service-learning project aimed at engaging the student body.

“This tree planting event will raise awareness of ongoing reforestation efforts on our campus, and increase environmental responsibility among students, faculty and staff,” Oludunfe said. “The trees planted will help us restore the diminishing tree canopy on campus and increase tree species diversity throughout the campus forest.”

Oludunfe noted that the UC San Diego campus has held two previous tree planting events with the collaboration of Associated Students.

Other campuses cited in the Tree Campus USA 2008 designations are the University of Michigan, Kentucky University, Virginia Tech, Oregon State, Jackson State in Mississippi, the University of Texas, Arizona State and the University of Nebraska.

The Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit conservation organization of nearly one million members, with a mission to inspire people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees.