OCU received 2017 Tree Campus USA recognition for the seventh year in a row.
The Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree Campus USA program recognizes colleges and universities across the U.S. that effectively manage their campus trees, support urban forests with their local community and provide service learning opportunities in forestry. OCU first received this recognition in 2011 and has received it every year since.
Part of local forestry is planting trees that are “Oklahoma-proven,” meaning they can tolerate the Oklahoma climate, said Adam Ryburn, professor and chair of biology and head of the Campus Tree Advisory Committee, which is made up of students and faculty dedicated to maintaining and planting new trees on campus..
“We plant trees that we know can withstand the heat and the cold,” Ryburn said. “We’ve had trees that died because they didn’t get enough water, so we try to plant the ones we know can survive.”
To receive Tree Campus USA recognition, a school must meet five requirements. It must have
-a Campus Tree Advisory Committee,
-a Campus Tree Care Plan,
-a Campus Tree Program with dedicated annual expenditures,
-Arbor Day observance, and
-a service learning project relating to Tree Campus USA’s initiative.
University officials try to plant new trees every year. Ryburn said last year it was easy because they had to replace the trees destroyed in storms. Last April, the same storms that damaged the soccer field and blew away the bleachers destroyed about 80 trees. In the following months, 100 trees were planted to replace them.
OCU’s campus has about 40 types of trees unique to Oklahoma. Many of the trees are labeled to educate students, and labeling them is an ongoing effort.
“I think OCU’s efforts to plant more trees are fantastic for several reasons,” said Laura Jardine, biology senior and member of the Campus Tree Advisory Committee. “It’s fun to plant saplings because they feel like a tangible gift I’m leaving for future OCU students. Second, trees are some of the safest and most sustainable tools we have to fight climate change.”
The school has multiple tree planting events over the year that are open to student involvement. Earth Week is scheduled for April 16-20 and will conclude with a tree planting that Friday, and a tree planting is also scheduled for Good Friday on March 30.
Students can email Ryburn at aryburn@okcu.edu for information on how to get involved with the Campus Tree Advisory Committee or tree plantings.
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