Duquesne University

In 2021, Duquesne University was named a Tree Campus USA Higher Education institution by the Arbor Day Foundation.

The world’s largest membership nonprofit organization dedicated to planting trees, the Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree Campus Higher Education program began in 2008 to encourage colleges and universities to plant trees on their campuses. Approximately 10% of college campuses across the United States hold this recognition.

Trees on campus and in urban spaces can lower energy costs by providing shade cover, cleaner air and water, and green spaces for students, faculty and staff. They also improve students’ mental and cognitive health, provide an appealing aesthetic for campuses and create shaded areas for studying and gathering.

The Tree Campus Higher Education program honors colleges and universities for effective campus forest management, and engaging staff and students in conservation goals. Duquesne achieved the distinction by meeting Tree Campus Higher Education’s five standards, including maintaining a tree advisory committee, a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for its campus tree program, an Arbor Day observance and a student service-learning project.