Thoughtful stewardship of Kenyon's canopy is central to the College's sustainability efforts. The College's tree-care plan has earned Kenyon the Arbor Day Foundation's Tree Campus USA recognition seven years in a row. Kenyon achieved the recognition by meeting Tree Campus USA’s standards, which include maintaining a tree-advisory committee, a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for a campus tree program, an Arbor Day observance, and a student service-learning project.
Kenyon's maintenance department and the Office of Green Initiatives share responsibility for Kenyon's tree-care plan. In addition, staff, faculty, students and community members serve on an advisory committee.
Tree-Care Plan Goals
- Maintain 38-42 percent tree canopy on campus.
- Thoughtfully manage the impact of development on campus trees during both planning and construction phases.
- Maximize our capacity for disease detection and prevention and coordinate reasonable tree removals with a planting program that prioritizes ecosystem function as well as aesthetics. Species selection, age class selection, and planting locations will focus on moving Kenyon towards its canopy-cover and carbon reduction goals.
Tree Campus Advisory Committee
- Vice President for Facilities, Planning and Sustainability Ian Smith
- Philander Chase Conservancy Managing Director Lisa Schott
- Faculty representatives: Robert Alexander, Christopher Bickford, Siobhan Fennessy, Gred Spaid
- Director of Green Initiatives David Heithaus
- Grounds Manager Steve Vaden
- Student representatives: TBD
- Community representatives: Jerry Kelly, Kachen Kimmel
Brown Family Environmental Initiatives
Kenyon’s dedication to trees as part of a push for carbon neutrality is clear: over 11,000 trees have been planted at the Brown Family Environmental Center over the past decade. That includes a 2013 volunteer effort that planted 500 oak trees to form eight concentric rings that form the template for a meditative labyrinth.