NCMC is one of only two Michigan community colleges to earn the distinction

North Central Michigan College has been honored by the Arbor Day Foundation® with 2020 Tree Campus Higher Education designation for its commitment to effective forest management and conservation.

North Central is one of only two Michigan community colleges to receive 2020 Tree Campus distinction.

The college achieved the title by meeting five standards, including maintaining a tree advisory committee and a campus tree care plan, dedicating annual expenditures for the campus tree program, celebrating trees on Arbor Day, and incorporating trees into a student service-learning project.

“It’s a wonderful recognition that shows the college’s commitment to creating a sustainable, thriving, and verdant campus,” said biology Professor Ben Crockett, who serves as North Central’s Tree Campus coordinator.

Crockett credits North Central’s 16-member Physical Plant staff for managing the college’s campus tree care plan.

North Central President David Roland Finley describes tree management and conservation as a campus-wide effort.

“Proper stewardship of our natural resources requires our students, faculty and staff to be engaged with our conservation goals,” Finley said. “This recognition is a wonderful accolade for the entire North Central community.”

Biology Professor Isis Arsnoe said the Tree Campus designation is just the beginning of what she believes will be a lasting partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation.

“Between our campus and Natural Area, we have a unique suite of tree biodiversity represented in more than a dozen ecosystems,” Arsnoe said. “We look forward to building our tree inventory in the future in collaboration with the Arbor Day Foundation.”

The Arbor Day Foundation, a million-member nonprofit conservation and education organization with the mission to inspire people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees, has helped campuses throughout the country plant thousands of trees, and Tree Campus Higher Education colleges and universities invested more than $51 million in campus forest management last year. This work directly supports the Arbor Day Foundation’s Time for Trees initiative, an unprecedented effort to plant 100 million trees in forests and communities and inspire 5 million tree planters by 2022. Last year, Tree Campus Higher Education schools collectively planted 39,178 trees and engaged 81,535 tree planters, helping the foundation work toward these critical goals.

North Central Michigan College is an open-door community college based in Petoskey, with additional locations offering classes and services in Cheboygan and Gaylord.  North Central’s mission is to provide exceptional, accessible, relevant higher education of and for the community.  North Central is an Achieving the Dream Leader College with a designation of Veteran Friendly Silver by the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency.  For more information, visit www.ncmich.edu. 
 

For more information:
Megan Van Horn
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231-439-6399