The University of Iowa and the Facilities Management Landscape Services Tree Crew were recently honored with the 2017 Tree Campus USA award at the 28th Annual Community Forestry Awards Luncheon in Des Moines. The UI was the first higher education institution in Iowa to win the award in 2009 and is one of only five Tree Campus USA award winners in Iowa. This is the ninth year in a row that the UI tree crew has received this honor.

To earn the award, a campus must at a minimum have a campus tree advisory committee, a tree care plan, a tree program with dedicated annual expenditures, an annual Arbor Day observance, and a service learning project to engage the student body.

“The Tree Campus USA award is a symbol for universities and colleges who continually strive to educate and engage their students and surrounding community about the benefits of trees and exhibit excellence in their tree management,” says State Forester Jeff Goerndt. “The University of Iowa has provided an outstanding example for other Iowa colleges and universities by enhancing our forest resources and demonstrating the great value of trees in providing multiple benefits for future generations.”

The Facilities Management Tree Crew contributors include:

• Shawn Fitzpatrick, assistant manager, Landscape Services, and International Society of Arboriculture (ISA)–certified arborist
• Mike Rhinehart, supervisor, Landscape Construction, ISA-certified arborist and 2016 Outstanding Professional, Iowa Urban Tree Council
• Andy Dahl, UI arborist and ISA-certified arborist/municipal specialist
• Alan Allgood, UI tree trimmer and ISA-certified arborist
• Kent George, UI tree trimmer
• Micah Berg, groundskeeper

The team maintains approximately 8,000 trees on the main campus and the UI Research Park, and typically plants more than 300 trees each year. The Tree Crew recently launched a publicly available Tree Inventory app to showcase and track the number, location, size, species, and status of trees on campus.