Arbor Day Foundation Recognizes UCSD for Best Practices in Campus Forestry

Pat Jacoby | November 17, 2008

From left: Vice Chancellor Steve Relyea, Chancellor Marye Anne Fox, Rhonda Glasscock and Woody Nelson at last week's Tree Campus USA event.

“I’m going to plant a tree today,” proudly announced 5-year-old Seth Christensen, a member of the kindergarten class at UCSD’s Early Childhood Education Center, as he wiggled in his seat before the speeches began. And so he did.

Seth, his friend Sarah Dong, 5, and their classmates were on hand for a ceremony Wednesday during which the Arbor Day Foundation recognized UC San Diego for its best practices in campus community forestry through a tree-planting event. After the talks, Seth and Sarah got to put their small hands in the dirt of a pre-prepared hole and planted a young eucalyptus tree.

Sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation and Toyota, the event marked UC San Diego’s selection as one of only nine universities to be honored of 75 U.S. colleges that applied for recognition of urban forest management. One hundred trees were planted by 35 Urban Corps members and a like number of UCSD students and staff members following the ceremony.

Children from the kindergarten class at UCSD’s Early Childhood Education Center helped plant trees.

In welcoming remarks at the event, held in a grove east of the Faculty Club, Chancellor Marye Anne Fox told the youngsters, “You’re our future for this planet.” 

Vice Chancellor of Business Affairs Steve Relyea noted that “UCSD’s first Urban Forest Management Plan was completed in March, 2008. The plan provides a framework for the sustainable management—including continuing enhancement—of our urban forest resource by instituting and implementing specific cost effective policies.”

“As we travel to and from campus, walk to a meeting or to lunch, or just gaze out of the windows of our buildings, we see the magnificence of our campus landscape and the majesty of our groves and trees,” Interim Assistant Vice Chancellor Russ Thackston said. “From our historic eucalyptus park grove and our regionally unique Torrey pines to our native, water-wise plantings, our campus landscape provides the ideal stage for our community to learn, work, recreate and relax,” he said. “This beautiful landscape does not, ironically, become this beautiful naturally. It is due to the hard work and dedication of many people, including the campus Planning Department and Facilities Management’s Landscape Services team.”

Muir senior Jessica Wall planted trees and gave a speech about the importance of student involvement with environmental issues.

Chuck Morgan, assistant director of UCSD Landscape Services, served as master of ceremonies and introduced Woody Nelson, vice president of Marketing Communications for the Arbor Day Foundation based in Lincoln, Neb. Nelson said that the Arbor Day Foundation’s new Tree Campus USA program recognized winning universities on five core standards of tree care and community engagement: establishing 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.

“UCSD’s program is a model that can be replicated throughout the country,” Nelson added.

Rhonda Glasscock, Toyota corporate contributions manager, noted that “this is an amazing location at an amazing campus.” She said Toyota is heavily involved in environmental causes, and “we are pleased to partner with UCSD, which has set a very high bar for others to meet.”

Approximately 30 Urban Corps members attended the ceremony to help plant trees.

Muir senior Jessica Wall, double majoring in environmental systems and economics, described the work of the UCSD Green Campus Program on energy efficiency and conservation and said she had seen “so many accomplishments by students and staff in the three and a half years I have been here.”

Campus locations and trees include 40 Eucalyptus planted in the Central Grove east of the Faculty Club, 34 Magnolia trees planted near the Spanos Athletic Center on the North Campus, and 26 trees including Torrey pine, Magnolia and Carrot Wood planted near Gilman Drive/Voigt Drive and Parking Lot 701 on the East Campus.