Mount Holyoke branches out its sustainability efforts
The Arbor Day Foundation has recognized Mount Holyoke College as a 2025 Tree Campus for its dedication to enhancing community well-being through tree education, investment and community engagement.
Mount Holyoke College has been named a 2025 by the for its dedication to environmental stewardship and sustainability through tree education, investment and community engagement. This is the first time the College has earned this status.
鈥淓arning this designation reaffirms our commitment to creating a greener, more equitable world and contributes to our carbon neutral goal,鈥 said Angelica Patterson, curator of education and outreach at the Miller Worley Center for the Environment. 鈥淭his status also means that we have and will continue to take steps to ensure a healthy tree population on our beautiful campus.鈥
The Tree Campus program recognizes schools, universities and health care facilities that utilize trees to improve their communities. Having 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, faculty and staff. Additionally, trees improve the mental and cognitive health of the community, and create shaded areas for studying and gathering, where deep conversations, big ideas and lifelong friendships can develop.
鈥淭rees have the power to inspire learning and improve well-being,鈥 said Michelle Saulnier, vice president of programs at the Arbor Day Foundation. 鈥淏y growing campus green spaces, forward-thinking higher education leaders like Mount Holyoke College are cultivating vibrant learning communities that also benefit the greater environment.鈥
The Arbor Day Foundation鈥檚 Tree Campus program is operated in partnership with the National Association of State Foresters and with support from professional partner Bartlett Tree Experts. To earn Tree Campus recognition, colleges and universities must uphold five core standards: maintain an advisory committee, establish a campus tree care plan, verify annual investment in the tree care plan, celebrate Arbor Day and create a service-learning project that engages the student body.
As a global nonprofit organization, the Arbor Day Foundation鈥檚 mission is to inspire people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees. Since 1972, it has planted more than 500 million trees across more than 60 countries.
