Arbor Day is devoted to connecting people with trees, strengthening community ties, and leaving a lasting legacy for future generations. This year, the annual University of Minnesota Twin Cities (UMN-TC) Arbor Day event did just that. The celebration was hosted at the Bell Museum’s Learning Landscape on Earth Day, bringing together Forest Resources, Horticultural Sciences, and UMN-TC Landcare for impactful tree planting and service learning.
Assistant Professor Alicia Coleman’s Urban Forest Management: Managing Greenspaces for People course (FNRM 4501-5501) provided students with practical, hands-on experience in essential tree-planting best practices. Working in collaboration with UMN-TC Landcare, students helped to plant 15 trees on the Bell Museum's property. Earlier in the week, these students were also trained in Landcare's standards for measuring a tree's diameter at breast height (DBH). UMN-TC Landcare will use the data they collected to update its current tree inventory and inform future management decisions that require updated DBH, such as calculating treatment dosage for common pests and diseases.
Beyond this project, visitors had a chance to learn more about urban forest management by picking up a native tree seedling and literature on best practices for tree planting, tasting tree-derived snacks, and connecting with departments in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS).
Sponsored by CFANS and hosted by the Campus Tree Advisory Committee, this event supports the University's status as an Arbor Day Foundation Tree Campus Higher Education institution.
Did you know?
The Tree Campus Higher Education program honors institutions for forest management and conservation engagement. Since 2023, UMN-TC has met all five Tree Campus standards: maintaining a tree advisory committee, a tree-care plan, dedicated expenditures, an annual Arbor Day observance, and an annual service-learning project for students. Of the 412 recognized Tree Campuses nationwide, UMN-TC is one of only two in Minnesota. To read the full UMN-TC Tree Management Plan, visit: z.umn.edu/treeplan.