Tree Campus

Mount Vernon Nazarene University aims to continually provide students with a sustainable and enjoyable campus. The MVNU campus, with its flourishing trees and abundant greenspace, is a tremendous source of pride for our community. This endeavor toward sustainability and campus beautification has earned MVNU the Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree Campus Higher Education designation since 2019.

We are proud to have earned this recognition by meeting Tree Campus USA’s five standards:

Campus Tree Advisory Committee
Campus Tree-Care Plan
Campus Tree Program with Dedicated Annual Expenditures
Arbor Day Observance
Student Service-Learning Project

Our Goals

Our Campus Tree Advisory Committee exists to cultivate sustainability and stewardship on MVNU’s campus. The goals for our campus are to:

Protect and maintain the campus trees by managing the impact of development and construction on the campus trees.
Provide protection and to make sure that removal of any trees on campus are conducted with proper considerations and adequate replacement program.
Promote tree species diversity to enhance educational opportunities on campus.
Promote respect and awareness for the value of trees.

Campus Tree Advisory Committee

Prof. Tim Radcliffe (Chair) — Faculty Representative
Ben Cook – Director of Facilities Services
Dr. Jon Bossley – Faculty Representatives
Heather Hoag – Staff Representative
Darrel George – Staff Representative
Corey Hitchman– Grounds Coordinator
Kiera Jones and Owen Adkins – Student Representatives
Dr. Randy Cronk – Community Representative

Educational Opportunities

The work of the Campus Tree Advisory Committee provides additional education opportunities for biology students and for the broader campus community. Students in botany and ecology courses regularly use the campus treescape as a part of labs. Members of the campus community and visitors soon will be able to explore tree species on campus through geolocation and species identification in the Geocaching Adventure Lab app.

What Is Tree Campus Higher Education?

Tree Campus USA is a national program created in 2008 by the Arbor Day Foundation to honor colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and for engaging staff and students in conservation goals.

The Arbor Day Foundation is a million-member nonprofit conservation and education organization with the mission to inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. More information is available at arborday.org.

Arbor Day Observance

Arbor Day is observed on the last Friday in April. Arbor Day exists to encourage people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees.

The 2023 Arbor day observance on campus included the planting of two trees — a Sun Valley Maple and a Scarlet Oak — on the campus quad. Both trees are known for their vibrant fall colors and will add to the campus shade canopy.

The 2022 Arbor Day observance included the planting of two trees – a Fort McNair Red Horse Chestnut and a male Tri-color Gingko. The locations for each – in front of the chapel and near the main campus entrance – were selected based on the need to replace damaged or diseased trees and opportunities to increase shade canopy as a part of sustainable campus beautification.