Tree Campus USA Schools More than Double in Second Year; Arbor Day Foundation Holding Six Tree-Planting Events to Celebrate

NEBRASKA CITY, Neb., Oct. 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Arbor Day Foundation's Tree Campus USA program continues to make a positive impact on college campuses across the United States, more than doubling in size in just its second year of operation. The Arbor Day Foundation and Toyota are celebrating by planting trees on six college campuses throughout the United States this fall.

The first fall tree-planting event will be held at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, on Oct. 9.

Earlier this year, 74 colleges and universities were recognized as a Tree Campus USA, 43 more than in the program's first year. The Arbor Day Foundation started the Tree Campus USA program in the fall of 2008 to recognize institutions of higher education that practice sound campus forestry and provide students an opportunity to participate in conservation efforts.

Tree Campus USA was created to honor college campuses and the leaders of their surrounding communities for promoting healthy urban forestry management and engaging the campus community in environmental stewardship.

Tree Campus USA has been supported since its inception by $1.3 million in grants from Toyota.

"A good way to celebrate the success of our Tree Campus USA program is to partner with Toyota to plant trees on college campuses throughout the country," said John Rosenow, chief executive and founder of the Arbor Day Foundation. "We hope to encourage students to make a positive impact on their immediate surroundings through the simple, yet powerful, act of planting trees. Some of the most beautiful places in cities and towns are on college campuses, and it is important to take care of these wonderful urban forests."

Tree-planting events will also be held at Furman University in Greenville, S.C.; University of California, Irvine; Creighton University in Omaha, Neb.; The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Atlanta; and Florida International University in Miami, Fla.

To become a Tree Campus USA community, a school must meet five core standards of tree care and community engagement: establishing a campus tree advisory committee; evidence of a campus tree-care plan; dedicated annual expenditures on the campus tree plan; involvement in an Arbor Day observance; and the institution of a service-learning project aimed at engaging the student body.

This is the third year the Arbor Day Foundation and Toyota have teamed up to plant trees on college campuses. Tree Campus USA tree-planting events will have planted more than 2,100 trees at 28 different colleges and universities through this partnership.

More information about the Tree Campus USA program is available at www.arborday.org/TreeCampusUSA or www.arbordaynow.org.

About the Arbor Day Foundation: The Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit conservation organization of more than 1 million members, with a mission to inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. More information on the Foundation and its programs can be found at arborday.org.

About Toyota: Toyota (NYSE: TM) established operations in the United States in 1957 and currently operates 10 manufacturing plants, including one under construction.  Toyota directly employs nearly 30,000 in the U.S. and its investment here is currently valued at more than $18 billion, including sales and manufacturing operations, research and development, financial services and design.

Toyota is committed to being a good corporate citizen in the communities where it does business and believes in supporting programs with long-term sustainable results. Toyota supports numerous organizations across the country, focusing on education, the environment and safety. Since 1991, Toyota has contributed more than $500 million to philanthropic programs in the U.S.  

For more information on Toyota's commitment to improving communities nationwide, visit http://www.toyota.com/philanthropy.

SOURCE Arbor Day Foundation