UMES takes root as Tree Campus

745-acre arboretumstyle campus receives national certification by Arbor Day Foundation

This year’s Arbor Day celebration at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore was one for the books. The 745 acres that make up the main campus in Somerset County were certificated by the Arbor Day Foundation as an official Tree Campus during a tree planting ceremony April 26. The school, known for its arboretum-style grounds, joined the ranks of 411 other institutions in the distinction.

“The Tree Campus Higher Education Program recognizes that college campuses are ecosystems, providing a healthier environment for the students and community,” said Dr. Stephanie Stotts, an associate professor in UMES’ departments of Natural Sciences and Agriculture, Food and Resource Sciences, and organizer for the event. “Trees add beauty, reduce heat island effect by creating shade, can clean the air and reduce asthma rates, and help mitigate climate change.”

Helping the state meet its tree canopy goal is the Maryland Forest Service’s business. The urban and community forestry program within the Maryland Forest Service is tasked with helping to carry out the Tree Solutions Now Act of 2021 passed by Maryland’s General Assembly.

“Our programs support educational institutions, communities and civic groups who want to plant trees all across the state of Maryland, particularly in underserved regions. Through the Act, the state of Maryland is financially supporting and encouraging everyone to help meet the goal of planting 5 million trees,” said Regional Forester Matthew Hurd, who is coordinating the effort on the Eastern Shore.

Students in Stotts’ urban forestry class worked with the university’s grounds supervisor to pick a location (between the Pond and Court Plaza) to plant two red maples donated by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. DNR also supplied some silky dogwood tree saplings for attendees to take home and plant. UMES’ Urban Forestry Program supports the university’s groundskeepers by conducting periodic tree inventories and through grants projects.

“To receive this designation, UMES was required to meet Tree

Campus’ five standards, which include maintaining a tree advisory committee, a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for its campus tree program, an Arbor Day observance and student service-learning projects,” Stotts said. “We hope UMES’ involvement in the program seals our commitment to additional plantings on campus and the community and brings awareness to the field of urban forestry, which is growing at an impressive rate.”

At Top: Matthew Hurd, center, a regional forester (Eastern Shore) with the Maryland Forest Service, Department of Natural Resources, presents a plaque to University of Maryland Eastern Shore representatives for meeting the requirements of the Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree Campus Higher Education Program (formerly Tree Campus USA). Pictured from left, are Logan Doggett, a junior agriculture major studying dendrology; School of Agricultural and Natural Sciences Dean Moses T. Kairo; Charles Smith III, a sophomore majoring in urban forestry; Dr. Stephanie Stotts, an associate professor in UMES’ departments of Natural Sciences and Agriculture, Food and Resource Sciences; Hurd; Dr. Stephan Tubene, acting chair of Agriculture, Food and Resource Sciences; and Dr. Jonathan Cumming, chair of Natural Sciences.