In 2022, the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) was honored with a Green Level People Loving and Nurturing Trees (PLANT) Award. The PLANT Award recognizes community efforts to care for trees, and award recipients are chosen by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Maryland Urban and Community Forestry Committee of the Maryland Forestry Boards. UMB’s sustained commitment to urban forestry through the expansion of its urban canopy, community education, tree inventory, and care is reflected by the highest Green Level award designation.
Additionally in 2022, UMB was awarded a Tree Campus Higher Education designation by the Arbor Day Foundation. The Tree Campus program encourages higher education institutions to contribute to the growth and health of their community tree canopies.
“Receiving these two designations demonstrates UMB’s commitment to maintaining and expanding its urban tree canopy to manage stormwater, mitigate the urban heat island effect, and provide habitat for wildlife in downtown Baltimore,” says Elizabeth Main, associate director in the UMB Office of Sustainability.
To achieve a Tree Campus Higher Education designation, campuses must meet five standards:
- Establishing a campus tree advisory committee
- Evidence of a campus tree care plan
- Verification of the plan's dedicated annual expenditures
- Observing Arbor Day
- Creating a service-learning project aimed at engaging the student body
The UMB Tree Care Plan, established in 2022, was created by the Tree Advisory Committee and Resilience Working Group. This plan outlines strategic goals and guidelines:
- Support the city of Baltimore’s goal of establishing 40 percent tree cover by 2030 to combat the urban heat island effect for UMB and its neighbors by increasing tree plantings on campus.
- Increase total number of campus trees by 10 percent over five years.
- Utilize UMB’s landscaping contract to ensure maintenance and care of existing trees on campus.
As of Dec. 13, 2022, UMB has planted 65 trees to increase the campus’ urban tree canopy. This was made possible through a grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust Urban Trees program.
Current projects by the Office of Sustainability and Department of Environmental Services include campus tree plantings, the development of a tree inventory, a Baltimore tree equity story map that highlights the importance of urban trees in the Baltimore area, and an interactive Campus Sustainability Map. UMB’s core values of Well-Being and Sustainability are continually demonstrated through the diligent and collaborative work of the Office of Sustainability and other campus departments.