Fresno State wins 2nd straight Tree Campus USA honor

For the second straight year, California State University, Fresno has been designated a Tree Campus USA University by the national Arbor Day Foundation headquartered in Nebraska City, Neb.

Fresno State was honored for “its dedication to campus forestry management and environmental stewardship.”

The 383-acre academic campus at Fresno State, designated a state arboretum in 1979, embraces about 4,000 trees – more than 100 species – that provide shade, green and a variety of blooms, while scrubbing the air. Thousands of flowers, shrubs and other plantings, many of them chosen for drought tolerance, provide additional visual interest on a campus with extensive lawns where students relax between classes or study.

An allergy-free garden provides a sneeze-free environment that demonstrates for residential gardeners and professional landscapers what plantings won’t cause allergies to flare.

The Fresno State arboretum also attracts visitors for walking tours. The arboretum Web site was updated during the past year to include information on self-guided tours.

In the past few years, Fresno State has begun an extensive tree-planting program, introducing more water-sipping varieties and replacing trees planted in the 1950s and nearing the end of their life span.

Teams of students, faculty, staff, administrators and community volunteers planted dozens of maples on campus to mark Arbor Day and celebrate the first Tree Campus USA designation. Other tree-plantings with Tree Fresno have engaged the community in the campus’ green efforts, which also include mulching of campus-generated greenwaste and landscape water conservation measures.

“This honor is a tribute to the efforts of our entire grounds team,” said Robert Boyd, associate vice president for Facilities Management. “The campus is both beautiful and an example of good practices that benefit not only the people here, but also our entire community.”

“The Tree Campus USA program will have a long-lasting impact at Fresno State as it engages college students and local citizens to plant trees and create healthier communities for people to enjoy for decades to come,” said John Rosenow, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation.