Indiana University demonstrated its commitment to caring for and expanding its woodland campuses, a goal of the IU Climate Action Plan, during Earth Month.
Facility Operations staff across five IU campuses (IU Bloomington, IU East, IU Indianapolis, IU Kokomo, and IU Southeast) hosted tree plantings to commemorate Arbor Day and support the university’s sustainability efforts. In total, 78 trees were added to IU’s over 23,000 inventoried trees, including native species such as Jefferson Elm, Sycamore, Black Cherry, and more. These events were made possible by student, staff, and faculty volunteers who dedicated their time and effort to planting trees.
At IU Southeast, trees destroyed by a tornado nearly a year prior were replaced, demonstrating resilience and dedication to restoring the campus tree canopy. IU Bloomington expanded its Arbor Day efforts with a restoration project led by ReWild IU to plant native grasses, wildflowers, and shrubs. IU Indianapolis celebrated reaching 25% canopy coverage, a 13% increase since 2018 and a significant milestone to its 28% goal.
IU’s commitment to effective forest management has earned seven IU campuses Tree Campus Higher Education designation by the Arbor Day Foundation. Additionally, all campuses recently received Arboretum Accreditation through ArbNet. This program recognizes institutions for their dedication to preserving and growing tree canopies and amplifies IU’s Woodland Campus Initiative.
