THE ARBOR DAY FOUNDATION AND TOYOTA CELEBRATE THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA IN HUNTSVILLE'S TREE CAMPUS USA® RECOGNITION
date 10/01/14
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Jeff Salem, Director of Communications & Public Relations, emailTrees Are Planted on Campus in Celebratory Event
Tree Campus USA® is now in its 6th year with 237 campuses
Huntsville, Ala. (October 1, 2014) - The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) celebrated receiving Tree Campus USA® recognition today with the Arbor Day Foundation and Toyota by planting 26 trees during a hands-on volunteer event.
Tree Campus USA® is a national campaign leading the way in recruiting and training environmental leaders to support forward-thinking sustainable campus communities.
"Students throughout the country are looking for opportunities to give back to their campus community and become better stewards of the environment," said Matt Harris, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. "Tree Campus USA gives students that chance and sets a terrific example for other colleges and universities."
Each year, the Arbor Day Foundation and Toyota sponsor tree plantings on college and university grounds throughout the country.
"On behalf of Toyota, I offer our sincere congratulations to the students, faculty and staff at The University of Alabama in Huntsville," said Jim Bolte, President of Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Alabama, Inc. "We are inspired by your success in engaging students in conservation and are delighted to continue to partner with the Arbor Day Foundation to support of the next generation of environmental leaders."
Tree Campus USA, a national program launched in 2008 by the Arbor Day Foundation, honors colleges and universities and their leaders for promoting healthy trees and engaging students and staff in the spirit of conservation. Tree Campus USA is supported by a generous grant from Toyota.
"We are so pleased to be recognized as a Tree Campus USA, and we appreciate both the Arbor Day Foundation and Toyota for their donation of 26 trees and sponsorship of this event," said Haley Hix, UAH's Sustainability Coordinator. "These trees serve as a means of offsetting our greenhouse gas emissions and will help us meet our goal of reaching 6% campus tree canopy coverage by 2015. But just as important, they are a reminder to our students and community that we are investing in a sustainable future."
Tree Campus USA recognition is awarded to colleges and universities that meet five core standards for sustainable campus forestry: a tree advisory committee, a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures to their campus tree program, an Arbor Day observance and student service-learning projects. All of these standards have the ultimate goals of reducing the footprint of college campuses and inspiring a lifelong passion for protecting the environment in today's college students.
About the Arbor Day Foundation: The Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit conservation and education organization of one million members, with the mission to inspire people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees. More information on the Foundation and its programs can be found at arborday.org.
About Toyota: Toyota (NYSE:TM), the world's top automaker and creator of the Prius, is committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands. Over the past 50 years, we've built more than 25 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14 manufacturing plants and directly employ more than 40,000 people. Our 1,800 North American dealerships sold more than 2.5 million cars and trucks in 2013 – and about 80 percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 20 years are still on the road today.
Toyota partners with philanthropic organizations across the country, with a focus on education, safety and the environment. As part of this commitment, we share the company's extensive know-how garnered from building great cars and trucks to help community organizations and other nonprofits expand their ability to do good. To date, Toyota has contributed more than $700 million to nonprofits in the U.S. For more information about Toyota, visit www.toyota.com/usa.
About The University of Alabama in Huntsville: The University of Alabama in Huntsville was founded in 1950 and became an autonomous campus with The University of Alabama System in 1969. Since that time, it has grown into one of the nation's premiere research universities, offering a challenging hands-on curriculum that ensures our graduates are prepared to become tomorrow's leaders. For more information, visit www.uah.edu/about.
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