News from campus and beyond
Students Help Make Furman A Tree Campus USA
Students who are members of the Greenbelt Community help plant trees on campus on March 19, 2025. It’s the last step of a year-long process to re-certify campus as a Tree Campus USA. Photo by Nathan Gray, Furman University.
Students in Furman University’s Greenbelt Engaged Living Community took the final step this week in a year-long process of recertifying the university as a Tree Campus USA.
With shovels in hand, and help from Facilities Services, the sophomores planted six “October Glory” red maples between the Earle Student Health Center and the Dining Hall where two towering oaks were felled by Hurricane Helene in September.
Greenbelt students, all sophomores, live in eco-friendly cabins around Furman Lake and contribute to sustainability programs and initiatives on campus. They take a one-hour class each semester and take on a year-long group project with Joy Baker, associate director of sustainability programs in Furman’s Shi Institute for Sustainability Communities.
Joey Davis, Furman’s horticulturist, noticed that Furman’s Tree Campus status had lapsed after 2022. He reached out to Baker before the fall semester. “Getting recertified by Tree Campus USA would make a great project for the Greenbelt community,” he said.
The students – Austin Matlock ’28, Garrett Ritter ’28, Logan Weil ’28, Sydnee Bailey ’28, Jada Hunt ’28 and Becca Ahern ’28 – worked with Davis to identify the best location. The task was made more challenging after Helene, which wiped out more than 500 trees.
Being certified a Tree Campus “signifies Furman’s commitment to environmental stewardship and to creating and maintaining a healthy ecosystem on campus,” Baker said. The campus is also certified through ArbNet as a Level 1 arboretum.
“Part of the Tree Campus USA certification is having a tree care plan for campus,” Baker said. “This ensures that campus trees are protected, maintained and that we plan for the future to keep campus beautiful and biodiverse.”
Replacing the unhealthy, unsafe trees along the Mall, main entrance and elsewhere with young, healthy trees that will live for centuries was part of the plan.
“Campus beautification, educational opportunities, and environmental benefits are also just a few reasons why certification is important,” Davis said.
Planting the maples was the last step for recertification. “Thanks to the Greenbelt Community we will once again be a certified Tree Campus USA,” he said.