MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – Middlebury College has once again been recognized by the Arbor Foundation as a “Tree Campus” for its care and conservation of trees.

Tree Campus USA, a national program launched in 2008 by the Arbor Day Foundation, honors colleges and universities and their leaders for promoting healthy trees and engaging students and staff in the spirit of conservation.

To obtain this designation, Middlebury College in 2016 met the foundation’s five core standards for sustainable campus forestry required by Tree Campus USA, including establishment of a tree advisory committee, evidence of a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for its campus tree program, an Arbor Day observance and the sponsorship of student service-learning projects.

Middlebury has more than 2,200 trees on its main campus, which are part of a management system supported by the landscape crew and College’s geography/GIS department. The management system tracks pruning, fertilization, and pest management for the campus forest. In 2014, a student developed an interactive Google map that gives descriptions of some 99 trees, representing one of nearly every variety of tree on campus.