Courtesy photos.
CAMARILLO — During a year like no other, the Arbor Day Foundation recognized CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) with a 2020?Tree Campus Higher Education® designation. The Tree Campus Higher Education program honors colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and for involving staff and students in conservation goals. 
“Tree Campuses?and their students set examples for not only their student bodies but for the surrounding communities by showcasing how trees create a healthier environment,” said Dan Lambe, president of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Because of CSUCI’s participation, air will be purer, water cleaner and students and faculty will be surrounded by the shade and beauty trees provide.”
This is the ninth time CSUCI was named a Tree Campus, despite the uncertainty posed by the pandemic.
“Our landscaping team worked endlessly throughout the pandemic,” said CSUCI Sustainability and Energy Manager Roxane Beigel-Coryell. “They were on campus making sure our trees were taken care of and planting new trees.”
Whereas lessened campus activity was easier on the trees, there was a period of time during the pandemic when health authorities were trying to determine whether it was safe for campus members—including tree care staff—to be on campus.
“Everything was overgrown and looking wild, and we saw what it could look like without landscapers to take care of everything,” Beigel-Coryell said. “When they were able to return to campus, we pruned 233 trees this year.”
The CSUCI landscaping team planted 206 new trees in 2020—many along University Drive and Lewis Road to screen the new solar project. The trees planted near the new solar panels are toyons, which are evergreens native to Southern California and generally grow six to eight feet tall.
“We try to prioritize native plants,” Beigel-Coryell said. “They are the ones most adapted to our climate and require the least pest control and watering.”
Tree planting is one of the five standards required to be met to become one of the 400 colleges and universities nationwide with a Tree Campus Higher Education designation. The other standards include maintaining a tree advisory committee; having a campus plan for caring for the trees; dedicated annual funding for the campus tree program, an Arbor Day observance and a student volunteer project in which they also learn, called a “service learning” project.
“We usually do a lot of service-learning projects that revolve around trees,” Beigel-Coryell said. “We usually have students plant trees or create habitats. We did some events virtually through Instagram such as our tree planting. This year we’re hoping to do a livestream tree planting.”
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 have collectively planted 39,178 trees and engaged 81,535 tree planters.
CSUCI’s livestream tree planting is scheduled for the morning of Friday, April 30. The time is to be determined; please follow @sustainabilityatcsuci on Instagram to learn more details.
For more information visit: www.csuci.edu/fs/sustainability/ or www.arborday.org
About California State University Channel Islands — CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) is reimagining higher education for a new generation and era. We are an innovative higher education institution that enables students to succeed and thrive – serving as an engine for social and economic vitality that provides the intellectual resources necessary for a thriving democracy. With more than 7,000 students, 1,200 employees and 14,000 alumni, CSUCI is poised to grow in size and distinction, while maintaining one of the most student-focused learning environments in public higher education. Connect with and learn more by visiting www.csuci.edu or CSUCI’s Social Media.