No matter the season, evergreens, elms, maples and other varieties of trees – about 4,000 of them – are major players on the Kent State University landscape.
“The campus grounds and trees are absolutely the first thing that people notice when they come for a campus visit,” said Kent State Grounds Manager Rebekkah Berryhill, in a late 2022 interview. “It’s proven that people learn better in an environment that has trees.”
According to the Arbor Day Foundation, trees on campuses and in urban spaces can lower energy costs by providing shade cover, cleaner air and water, and green spaces for students and faculty. Trees also can improve students' mental and cognitive health, provide an appealing aesthetic for campuses, and create shaded areas for studying and gathering.
"Trees not only play a vital role in the environment but also in our daily lives,” said Dan Lambe, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Having trees on college and university campuses is a great way to show a commitment to students and faculty’s overall wellbeing.”
While mother nature clearly blessed the Kent region when it comes to arboreal eye candy, a campus this beautiful just doesn’t happen on its own. It takes the helping hands of campus administrators, staff and even students to make it happen. And for their efforts, Kent State has been recognized for the 15th consecutive year with the Tree Campus Higher Education recognition (previously called the Tree Campus USA designation).
Criteria to qualify for the award includes five core standards for sustainable campus forestry. These include: establishment of a tree advisory committee, evidence of a campus tree care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for the campus’ tree program, an Arbor Day observance, and the sponsorship of student learning projects. For the 2022 award, the Arbor Day Foundation recognized 411 campuses across the U.S., planting nearly 32,000 trees and engaging more than 5,600 students.
While the Kent Campus has been on the list since its inception, other Kent State campuses have been included on the list as well – the Kent State Stark Campus for 13 years; the Kent State Salem Campus for nine years, and the Kent State Tuscarawas Campus for five years.
They Don’t Call It ‘Tree City’ for Nothing
Kent was reportedly proclaimed a “Tree City” in a 1949 Kent City Council ordinance. At the time, a three-man “Shade Tree Commission” got busy planting the many maples, elms and larger trees that shape the landscape of the university and surrounding community today. However, according to an article from the 1973 Daily Kent Stater, Tree City’s roots date as far back as 1881 when an English gardener named John Davey came to Kent to be the sexton of Standing Rock Cemetery. A visionary who pioneered the science of tree surgery, John Davey went on to have a son named Martin, founder of the Davey Tree Expert Co., which to this day has its international headquarters located in Kent. In the 1970s, a Davey Tree employee named Bill Staples, patented a maple with leaves that turn “blood red” in the fall, a favorite among northeast Ohio foliage fans.