SBU University receives eleventh Tree Campus USA designation

Stony Brook University has been named a “Tree Campus Higher Education Institution” for the eleventh consecutive year, recognizing the university’s efforts conducted during the 2023 calendar year, according to a press release on March 20. 

Tree Campus Higher Education, the national program launched in 2008 by the Arbor Day Foundation, honors colleges and universities, and their leaders, for promoting healthy trees and engaging students and staff in the spirit of conservation.

To obtain this distinction, Stony Brook University met the five core standards for effective campus forest management, including establishing a tree advisory committee, creating a campus tree care plan, dedicating annual expenditures for that campus tree program, observing Arbor Day, and sponsoring student-service learning projects. Last year, members of the Campus Operations & Maintenance team partnered with the Stony Brook Child Care Services Center to plant a seven-foot Ginkgo Biloba ‘The President’ tree.

Alaina Claeson, Horticulturist/Landscape Coordinator at Stony Brook University commented, “This recognition is owed to the support and hard work of our Campus Operations & Maintenance (COM) team and our student organizations across campus. Faculty, staff and students have all played an instrumental role in helping beautify many corners of our campuses this year. From the student-led vegetable garden behind the Student Activities Center to new plantings at the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics, our communal efforts towards sustainability and maintaining green spaces have provided our Seawolf community with spaces to relax, unwind and connect with nature.”

Since 2009, Stony Brook has planted hundreds of trees on campus — most of which were cultivated in the University’s own greenhouses — through a robust planting program designed to manage the University’s tree care and beautify the campus. In addition to planting trees each year, the horticultural team grows an average of 10,000-15,000 annual plants that help adorn the campus from commencement through the fall season. The COM staff also helps plant and maintain all landscapes across Stony Brook’s campuses throughout the year.