Thiel College marks Arbor Day as one of just 18 Tree Campus USA schools in Pennsylvania

Posted April 24, 2020 Print

GREENVILLE, Pa.-- Thiel College celebrates Arbor Day as one of just 18 institutions of higher learning in Pennsylvania to be recognized by the prestigious Arbor Day Foundation Tree Campus USA program.

Tree Campus USA recognizes select colleges and universities that engage their students with service learning projects centered on campus and community forestry. Colleges and universities across the United States are recognized as Tree Campus USA schools by meeting five standards developed to promote healthy trees and student involvement. The five standards are:

a campus tree advisory committee;
a campus tree-care plan;
a dedicated annual spending plan for tree care;
an Arbor Day observance; and
service-learning projects.

Thiel College meets the standards by using innovative methods to inventory campus trees, planting and caring for a diversity of tree species, and carrying out events in observance of Arbor Day in April. In addition to the standards and observances, the campus community has hosted tree plantings as part of its annual Earth Day celebration and dedicates a new tree along Brother Martin’s Walk each year as part of its Commencement Exercises. One of the most iconic landmarks on campus—Brother Martin’s Walk—is the tree-lined sidewalk that is central to annual gatherings and celebrations on campus. On Nov. 10, 1874, on the anniversary of Martin Luther’s birth, Thiel faculty, staff and students joined together and planted 392 trees in two rows to form what became known as Brother Martin’s Walk.

According to the Arbor Day Foundation, Thiel College’s commitment to sustainability played an important role in securing this honor. Colleges and universities across the United States are recognized as Tree Campus USA schools due to those institutions’ efforts to promote healthy trees and student involvement. In conjunction with the College’s recognition by the Arbor Day Foundation, Thiel has a unique cooperative program for a Master of Forestry degree with Duke University.