Englewood Cliffs, N.J. – The Arbor Day Foundation, in partnership with Toyota, has honored the Englewood Cliffs campus of Saint Peter’s College with the status of Tree Campus USA for its dedication to improving the forestry in its community. Saint Peter’s is the only college in New Jersey to hold this honor.
The College will be presented the Tree Campus USA designation and will celebrate Arbor Day with the planting of a new tree on Thursday, April 28 at 5:30 p.m. Alexander McCartney, a forester from the State of New Jersey’s Community Forestry Program, will present a Tree Campus USA flag and a commemorative plaque to the College. Englewood Cliffs Mayor Joseph Parisi will also join the campus community for the celebration. The Englewood Cliffs Shade Tree Commission has donated the tree for planting and the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Peace will provide support to the initiative through tree maintenance.
“We are proud to be the only college in the Garden State to earn the distinction of Tree Campus USA,” said Elizabeth Kane, dean of the school of professional and continuing studies at Saint Peter’s College. “We are grateful to the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Peace and the Englewood Cliffs Shade Tree Commission for their contributions to this endeavor and look forward to continuing our commitment to sustainability and tree preservation.”
The goal of Tree Campus USA is to honor colleges and universities that use sustainable practices and engage students in tree-planting and conservation initiatives. This year, 115 U.S. colleges and universities earned Tree Campus USA status, from large universities to small, private colleges.
Saint Peter’s met the five core standards of tree care and community engagement to earn its Tree Campus USA recognition: establish a campus tree advisory committee, evidence of a campus tree-care plan, verification of dedicated annual expenditures on the campus tree-care plan, involvement in an Arbor Day observance and a service-learning project aimed at engaging the student body in sustainable efforts.
The Arbor Day Foundation launched Tree Campus USA in the fall of 2008 by planting nearly 1,000 trees at nine college campuses throughout the United States. For more information about the Tree Campus USA program, visit www.arborday.org/TreeCampusUSA.
Contact:
Sarah Malinowski
(201) 761-6239