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All four �鶹��Ƶ campuses have earned the 2016 Tree Campus USA® designation by the Arbor Day Foundation. This is the first year for the Metro, Southeast and West campuses to receive the recognition and the fifth year for the Northeast Campus to receive the recognition.

“This has been a wonderful but long process across all of our campuses to demonstrate our commitment to promoting healthy trees and engaging students, faculty and staff in sustainability and conservation efforts,” said Mike Limas, who spearheaded the Tree Campus USA application process. “We cataloged each tree and developed a tree-care plan which is one of the five requirements to be a Tree Campus USA campus.”

The other four Tree Campus USA standards include maintaining a tree advisory committee, dedicated annual expenditures for its campus tree program, an Arbor Day observance and student service-learning project.

Currently, there are six distinguished Oklahoma universities and college campuses with this recognition and 296 campus across the United States. Tree Campus USA is a national program created in 2008 by the Arbor Day Foundation.

“Students are eager to volunteer in their communities and become better stewards of the environment,” said Matt Harris, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Participating in Tree Campus USA sets a fine example for other colleges and universities, while helping to create a healthier planet for us all.”

The has helped campuses throughout the country plant thousands of trees, and Tree Campus USA colleges and universities invested more than $46.7 million in campus forest management last year.