Lourdes University Earns 2024 Tree Campus Recognition from the Arbor Day Foundation

The Arbor Day Foundation recognized Lourdes University as a 2024 Tree Campus for its dedication to enhancing community well-being through tree education, investment, and community engagement.

The Arbor Day Foundation is a global nonprofit with a mission to inspire people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees. Its network of more than a million supporters and partners has helped the organization plant more than 500 million trees in forests and communities across more than 60 countries since 1972. The Tree Campus program recognizes schools, universities, and healthcare facilities that utilize trees to improve their communities.

“Trees have the power to inspire learning and improve well-being,” said Michelle Saulnier, Vice President of Programs at the Arbor Day Foundation. “By growing campus green spaces, forward-thinking higher education leaders like Lourdes University are cultivating vibrant learning communities that also benefit the greater environment.”

Trees on campus can lower the energy cost of campus facilities by providing shade cover, reducing extreme heat, improving air quality and boosting physical health benefits for students and staff. In addition, trees improve students’ mental and cognitive health, provide an appealing aesthetic for campuses, and create shaded areas for gathering and studying.

“Lourdes University is thrilled to receive this recognition,” according to Sister Barbara Vano, Vice President for Mission and Ministry. “As a sponsored ministry of the Sisters of St. Francis, we are blessed with a heritage intimately tied to the Franciscan value of care for creation. Located on the Sisters’ Motherhouse and part of their enduring legacy, the University is committed to doing our part with our Sponsors to preserve and enhance the wooded areas that provide a healthy, peace-filled space shared with countless individuals who use these grounds.”

To earn Tree Campus recognition from the Arbor Day Foundation, colleges and universities must uphold five core standards including maintain an advisory committee, set a campus tree care plan, verify annual investment in the tree care plan, celebrate Arbor Day, and create a service-learning project aimed at engaging the student body.

The Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree Campus program is operated in partnership with the National Association of State Foresters and support from professional partner Bartlett Tree Experts. To learn more about the program or how to apply, visit arborday.org.