Ed Castro, Staff Writer

The Sun

REDLANDS – The University of Redlands received nationwide recognition for embracing five standards that focused on campus tree care and community involvement.

For its efforts, U of R earned Tree Campus USA recognition for the third straight year for its dedication to forestry management and environmental stewardship, according to the nonprofit Arbor Day Foundation.

The five standards included: establishment of a campus tree advisory committee; evidence of a campus tree-care plan; verification of dedicated annual expenditures on the campus tree-care plan; involvement in an Arbor Day observance; and the institution of a service-learning project aimed at engaging the student body.

A photographic Campus Tree Tour of the university is available online and a map is also offered to guide visitors during a trip on campus.

“Students throughout the country are passionate about sustainability and community improvement, which makes the University of Redlands’ emphasis on well-maintained and healthy trees so important,” said John Rosenow, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation.

The university’s tree advisory committee includes members from the Students for Environmental Action group, the Community Service Learning Office, professors in the environment studies and biology departments, facilities management employees, as well a member of the city Street Tree Committee.

The campus also produces a majority of its energy, as well as heating and cooling, with its on-site co-generation plant and plants its own sustainable vegetable garden.

In the university’s green residence hall, Merriam Hall, students can explore sustainable living. Its newest buildings, the Center for the Arts complex, recently received gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for its environmentally friendly features, and the Lewis Hall for Environmental Studies is a silver LEED-certified green building.

Tree Campus USA is a national program that honors colleges and universities and their leaders for promoting healthy management of their campus forests and for engaging the community in environmental stewardship.

Numerous Network groups will be utilizing urban greening project funds to develop green space at several schools and schoolyards in California by replacing asphalt and concrete with permeable surfaces, bioswales, low mow/low maintenance grasses, gardens, native landscaping, understory and shade trees. Award recipients included the LA Conservation Corps, Hollywood Beautification Team and the Sacramento Tree Foundation.

In addition, TreePeople and North East Trees joined the LA Conservation Corps in securing planning grants that will support urban greening planning for Baldwin Hills, La Brea, Downtown San Pedro, Inglewood, and Lennox.

Finally, Urban Tree Foundation partnered with the City of Visalia and the City of Hanford to restore portions of Mill Creek, and plant street trees in downtown Hanford, respectively.

In total, six Network groups picked up 10 urban greening grants totaling almost $4.6 million, or more than 22%, of the entire pot for available in this grant cycle.

The final awards approved by SGC last week in the 2011-12 grant cycle for Network Groups are as follows:

This month, the project has been entered in the San Diego Apps Challenge. The Urban Forest Map Project would be very grateful if you would help spread the word through your social networks to encourage people to vote.

The entry, with a description and video, is here.

To vote, you do need to create an account but it’s quick and easy and, once you do, you can vote once every day.

“By dedicating his professional life to effective urban forestry and providing vital tree maintenance through strong leadership and strategic policy, Joe Benassini serves as model for tree care professionals,” said John Rosenow, founder and chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation.

Since 1972, the Arbor Day Foundation has recognized the work of leading environmental stewards and tree planters through the annual Arbor Day Awards. To learn more about the awards and this year’s recipients, you can read the full press release here.

The Awards committee seeks nominations of the Active Membership for the annual Awards described herein (exclusive of President’s Award and Special Awards) by December 31st of each year, through published requests, mailings and/or any other means which may be directed by the Board.

Final determination of award recipients shall be determined by a Vote of the Board. Any nominated Board member(s) shall abstain from voting on their award category.

All awards are bestowed on an annual basis. All awards shall be announced and presented before the Membership at the Annual Meeting and Conference.

Click here to complete our online Awards Nomination Form. Direct your questions to Awards Chair Carl Mellinger at moc.loanull@enoogknig or contact the WCISA office at 559/784-8733.

All valid nominations shall be reviewed by the Award Committee and a recommended award slate submitted to the WCISA board.

Virtually every region in the state is represented by these grant recipients that are engaging in a variety of tree-planting projects that will enhance through urban forestry  California communities extending from the city streets of Eureka to underserved areas in Los Angeles County.  “Healthy urban and community forests directly contribute to the economic, social and environmental health of California,” said Chuck Mills, California ReLeaf Grants Program Manager.  “Through their funded proposals, these nine grant recipients reflect a creativity and commitment to making our state a better place to live for this generation and generations to come.”

The California ReLeaf Tree-Planting Grant Program is funded through a contract with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.  A complete list of the 2011 grant recipients can be downloaded from the California ReLeaf website at www.californiareleaf.org.

“ReLeaf is proud to be an integral part of building community through tree-planting projects in California,” said Executive Director Joe Liszewski.  “Since 1992, we have invested more than $6.5 million in urban forestry efforts geared towards greening our Golden State.  We are especially excited to see several of these grant recipients volunteering to work with us this year to measure many of their projects’ healthy community contributors by utilizing cutting-edge software that will quantify air quality and energy conservation benefits. ”

California ReLeaf’s mission is to empower grassroots efforts and build strategic partnerships that preserve, protect, and enhance California’s urban and community forests.  Working statewide, we promote alliances among community-based groups, individuals, industry, and government agencies, encouraging each to contribute to the livability of our cities and the protection of our environment by planting and caring for trees.

Applications for the 2011 Nature Hills Nursery Green America Awards will be accepted nationwide until April 1, 2011. For more information and t o apply for the 2011 award online, visit the website at www.naturehills.com/green_america_awards.aspx

Mayor Espinosa gets help from 3-year-old Elijah-Re Jones to plant a ceremonial Cedar of Lebanon tree at the Canopy awards ceremony. Credit: Aaron Selverston

Dozens of families, numerous former mayors of Palo Alto, and Canopy volunteers made up a crowd of about 100 people at Canopy’s annual awards ceremony. This year’s ceremony was held on Tu Bishvat, the Jewish holiday for trees, adding a special significance for many of the attendees.

Palo Alto Mayor Sid Espinosa planted a Cedar of Lebanon at the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center with the help of several children in attendance at the ceremony.

In praise of Canopy, Mayor Espinosa said, “Canopy makes sure that hundreds [of trees] are planted -hundreds more than were cut down – all over this city.”

Suggestions received through February 24, 2011, will be considered for Great Places in America designation in 2011. For more information on how to suggest your favorite Great Place, visit APA’s website.

“In this era of limited resources, public-private partnerships are proving especially successful in making their communities more sustainable.” said Stephen Jordan, BCLC executive director. “We are soliciting nominations so that we can share best practices and help accelerate this process throughout the country.”

The Siemens Sustainable Community Awards recognize communities in the categories of small, midsize, and large, based on population. Nominations will be accepted until January 21, 2011. Community-based coalitions, chambers of commerce, community developers, and other local agencies are encouraged to complete the application process.

The winning community in each category will receive $20,000 worth of trees from Siemens Corporation. The tree award will be delivered through the Alliance for Community Trees (ACT). In 2010, Siemens Sustainable Community Award winner Grand Rapids, Michigan, received its trees during a weekend-long planting event staged by ACT member organizations Friends of Grand Rapids Parks and Global ReLeaf of Michigan. Siemens employees participated in the planting, as did local volunteers, civic leaders, tree care experts, businesses, and city officials.

To be eligible for the awards program, cities and municipalities must demonstrate several overarching characteristics of long-term sustainability planning. These requirements include local partnerships and stakeholder involvement and demonstrable improvements to the environment, business sector, and quality of life.

The Siemens Sustainable Community Awards judging panel consists of leading professionals with backgrounds in environment, business, academics, government, and economic development. One winning community per category will be announced on April 13, 2011, at the Chamber BCLC’s National Conference on Corporate Community Investment in Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia and its mayor’s office are the winners of the 2010 Sustainable Community Award, Large Community.

“Siemens is proud to sponsor this award, which emphasizes the important role communities of all sizes play in setting examples for achieving a sustainable future,” said Alison Taylor, vice president, Sustainability, Siemens Corporation. “Sustainability is a cornerstone of Siemens values and being able to support cities in their quest for greater sustainability is not only a business goal, but also a responsibility that we take very seriously.”

For more information, visit the Siemens Sustainable Communities Awards page.