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 California
State University, Fresno has been recognized by the Arbor Day
Foundation’s Tree Campus USA program for “its dedication to campus
forestry management and environmental stewardship.”
Fresno State is the only one of the 23 California State University
campuses to earn the designation, which has been bestowed on only 16
campuses across the United States. California’s only other Tree Campus
USA is the University of California, San Diego.
“This is a great honor that recognizes not only what we’re doing today,
but also the forward thinking over many decades at Fresno State,” said
Ryan McCaughey, the university’s manager of grounds and arboretum.
“Since the 1950s, when the first trees planted were planted, our camps
has served as a major expanse of green in an increasingly urban area.”
With about 4,000 trees representing more than 100 species and thousands
of other plantings and flowers, the 327-acre academic campus was
designated a state arboretum in 1978. The varieties of plantings on view
today have evolved over time, reflecting changing conditions such as
disease, climate and water availability.
The trees help scrub the air of pollutants, provide energy-saving shade
for buildings and contribute to cooler temperatures on campus and the
urbanized area surrounding it during the summer heat.
Fresno State actively encourages the greater regional community to visit
the campus arboretum to appreciate its beauty and serenity and to
observe landscaping possibilities they might put to use in backyards or
at businesses. Over the years, the public has been involved in helping
maintain specific plantings and the university has worked with Tree
Fresno volunteers in tree-plantings on and off the campus.
Members of the public also serve on the Arboretum Subcommittee, an
advisory body on campus plantings.
McCaughey, who came to Fresno State in 2006, recently was designated by
the Professional Grounds Management Society as a certified grounds
manager. He leads a staff of more than 20 people who care for the campus
plantings, Fresno State athletics venues and University House, the
president’s residence. The Grounds Department is within the Facilities
Management Department at Fresno State, which is housed in the Division
of Administrative Services.
“The Tree Campus USA program will have a lasting impact at Fresno State
and throughout the country because it will engage students and local
citizens to plant trees and create healthier communities for people to
enjoy for generations to come,” said John Rosenow, chief executive of
the Arbor Day Foundation, which is based in Lincoln, Neb.
“Fresno State will benefit from better tree-care practices on campus,
and it will help connect the university with tree-care professionals in
their community to improve the tree canopy in Fresno,” added Rosenow.
Tree Campus USA, a national program launched in 2008, honors
universities and the leaders of the campus and surrounding communities
for promoting healthy urban forest management and engaging the campus
community in environmental stewardship. Tree Campus USA is supported by
a $750,000 grant from Toyota.
The Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit conservation organization of
nearly 1 million members.
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