ECTC earns Tree Campus Higher Education designation

Published on Feb 5, 2024

Elizabethtown Community and Technical College (ECTC) recently received a Tree Campus Higher Education designation through the Arbor Day Foundation. It is one of only 14 colleges and universities in Kentucky to earn this distinction, and one of more than 400 nationwide.

“Earning this distinction shows that our efforts to showcase the importance of trees in the environment have paid off,” said Martha Wolfe, ECTC professor emeritus and chair of the college’s sustainability committee.

Tree Campus Higher Education was founded in 2008 to help make campuses healthier and more livable. To earn the Tree Campus Higher Education designation, the college had to establish a campus tree advisory committee; have a campus tree care plan; provide an annual expenditure budget for the tree care plan; observe Arbor Day; and create a service-learning project aimed at engaging the student body.

ECTC’s sustainability committee, comprised of students, faculty and staff, coordinated efforts to meet requirements. Among other endeavors, the group also hosted a native Kentucky tree seedling giveaway for Arbor Day and performed a campus tree inventory assisted in part by ECTC students.

“The goal of the committee is to promote sustainability practices, and we do that through educational opportunities and giveaways,” Wolfe said. “As a biologist, it’s important to me to bring awareness to the necessity of improving and maintaining trees. Earning this distinction demonstrates ECTC’s commitment to sustainability both on campus and in the community at large.”

For more information on ECTC’s sustainability committee, contact Wolfe at martha.wolfe@kctcs.edu.