Thanks to efforts by a student-led environmental club, Grace College received its designation as a Tree Campus by the Arbor Day Foundation.
Since 2008, the Arbor Day Foundation has recognized more than 400 university and college campuses as Tree Campuses. Grace College joins 16 other Tree Campuses in Indiana, including Butler University, Indiana University Bloomington, and Purdue University.
The initiative to designate Grace College as a Tree Campus began with Dr. John Teevan during his term as interim president in 2022. Now, he celebrates the work of students and staff to make this possible.
“Being a Tree Campus means we’re committed to being a beautiful campus,” Teevan explained. “Beauty is a strong value. The places we don’t like to be are barren and ugly. Becoming a Tree Campus was an idea that’s been in process for a long time. Then Eddie picked up the ball and ran with it. I love the collaborative teamwork.”
Senior Edward (Eddie) Gill is an environmental science student and president of the environmental club on campus. His leadership was instrumental in celebrating Arbor Day at Grace College for the first time in 2022. Now, he celebrates what this designation means for his school.
“Becoming a Tree Campus is a big step for our campus,” said Gill. “This recognition will help make our campus beautiful for generations of students to come and increase our environmental responsibility as we plant more native trees.”
The environmental club, supported by Lilly Center for Lakes & Streams staff, continues to pursue its goal of planting all 101 native Indiana tree species on campus. To date, 45 native tree species are growing on the Grace College campus.
To learn more about Grace College’s environmental science program, visit www.grace.edu/programs/environmental-science/.
For more about the Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree Campus initiative, visit www.arborday.org/programs/tree-campus-higher-education/.
Image attached: Faculty, staff, and students celebrate Grace College’s Tree Campus designation. L-R: Rachel Germann; Emma Crosby; Kamryn Booher; Dr. Drew Flamm, Grace College president; Michael Stauffer; Morgan Hooks; Dr. Nate Bosch, Lilly Center for Lakes & Streams director; Quinten Hunsberger; Dr. John Teevan, Grace College envoy to the president; Joshua Fisher; Kevin Fouts; Carter Schuh; Annalieze Crawford; Ethan Brown; Kaylee McCaskey; Edward Gill, Grace College Stewards of Creation club president; Stephen Foy; Ethan Buller; Grace St. Claire, Lilly Center lead education coordinator; Chai Spencer; Emily Anderson; Lilian Rainwater; Theodore Faur; Janet McIlroy; Morgan Burkholder; Nate Woolery.
