“We are excited to obtain the Tree Campus Higher Education designation for 2023,” said Jeff Hartley, Catawba’s Landscape Account Manager. “A healthy tree population helps cleanse the air, reduce and filter harmful carbon emissions, and helps provide a comfortable setting for all to enjoy.”
A national program launched in 2008, Tree Campus Higher Education, formerly Tree Campus USA, honors colleges and universities, and their leaders, for promoting healthy trees, and for engaging students and employees in the spirit of conservation.
To obtain this distinction, Catawba College met the five core standards for effective campus forest management: establishing a tree advisory committee, evidence of a tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for the campus tree program, observing Arbor Day, and student service-learning projects.
Catawba continues to build on its commitment to sustainability. They were the first college in the Southeast to be certified carbon neutral seven years ahead of their 2030 goal, and the first campus in the US to add Haven solar shelters to their campus. The campus is also home to a solar-powered trash compactor bin from CleanCUBE which holds up to five times more waste compared to traditional bins. Catawba added an electric vehicle (EV) charging station for visitors last fall and is in the process of adding additional charging stations. They also erected a solar sculpture created by Spotlight Solar. The college is completing work on a new geothermal system that will provide efficient and clean heating and cooling for the Corriher-Linn-Black Library. Catawba’s Ketner School of Business is also launching a new Sustainable Leadership MBA concentration in collaboration with the Center for the Environment and Hurley School of Arts and Sciences.
To read more about Catawba’s Campus Tree Care Committee, visit their website at https://catawba.edu/treecare/.
You can read more about the Tree Campus designation on the Arbor Day Foundation’s website at https://www.arborday.org/programs/tree-campus-higher-education/#recognizedSection.
