By Lian Bunny
Assistant News Editor
For the fourth consecutive year, the Arbor Day Foundation has named St. Bonaventure University a Tree Campus USA school, acknowledging achievements made during 2013.
The Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to conservation and education with a mission to inspire people to plan, nurture and celebrate trees.
Tree Campus USA was created in 2008 and is a nation-wide program that honors colleges and universities for active campus forest management and for encouraging students and staff to preserve our environment.
There are five standards that must be met to achieve the title, “Tree Campus USA.” They include maintaining a tree advisory committee, a campus tree-care plan, annual expenditures for its campus tree program, an Arbor Day observance and a student service-learning project.
As of 2012, 191 colleges and universities were recognized.
Rob Hurlburt, associate director of facilities for maintenance at the university, applies for recertification annually by the end of each calendar year.
“Our Tree Campus USA involvement is an extension of our campus sustainability initiatives and the Land Use subcommittee,” Hulburt said. “It is directly associated with the stewardship of campus properties by our facilities department. It has enabled service-learning opportunities for our students that include passport events, Clare 401 assignments, internships and freshman service day activities along with Land Use subcommittee projects.”
One of the events that will count toward Tree Campus USA requirements is Recyclemania.
Recyclemania is a competition in which colleges and universities benchmark goals for their recycling programs to promote waste reduction. It lasts eight weeks each spring and schools across the United States and Canada participate.
According to Sister Suzanne Kush, faculty advisor for Tread Lightly, Recyclemania helps Bonaventure with forest conservation, preservation, sustainability and education. The program fulfills the Tree Campus USA requirements of an Arbor Day observance and student service-learning projects.
Tread Lightly is largely responsible for organizing student environmental service-learning projects.
To increase awareness, Tread Lightly did a pledge drive in the Hickey Dining Hall last week.
The group will also have volunteers stand at the tunnel exits of basketball games to promote recycling. They encourage fans leaving the arena to recycle their cans, bottles and popcorn boxes.
Last Saturday’s homecoming men’s basketball game, the athletic department allowed Tread Lightly a 60 second time-out for a Recyclemania promotion. Two students competed to throw 10 empty plastic bottles into a recycling bin.
During midterm break, faculty and staff are encouraged to clean out their offices. Students will be conducting a paper drive where they go into the office to collect recyclables.
On Wednesday, March 19, Tread Lightly will work together with maintenance to have one of the dumpsters emptied in the quad on a large tarp. The goal is to have a visual presentation of how many recyclables the university community throws away.
On Thursday, April 3, the environmental club is staging a fashion show, Trashion Fashion, in the Rigas Family Theater at 7 p.m. Students will present fashion made from recycles materials that are 95 percent post-consumer. Judges will score the designs and announcing a winner.
A branch of Bonaventure’s sustainability committee, Land Use, is planning Bonaventure’s Arbor Day celebration for April 25. Headed by Brother Kevin Kriso, O.F.M., the subcommittee will mark the trees along the Allegheny River trail with Quick Response (QR) codes. Then people walking the trail with smart phones will be able to easily access information about the different kinds of trees.
Bonaventure’s goal for this year’s Recyclemania project is to recycle 25 percent of all materials. As of last week, Bonaventure had reached 20 percent.
“Most things can be recycled. It’s just a matter of taking the time,” said Sister Suzanne. “I think it’s very much in keeping with our Franciscan spirit of care of creation, care of our earth and care of our home.”
