Tree City & Tree Campus Programs
The Tree City USA, Tree Campus Higher Education, and Tree Campus K-12 are Arbor Day Foundation programs cooperating with the US Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters. The programs provide frameworks to support communities across the United States in growing and maintaining their community forests.
Tree City USA Tree Campus Higher Education Tree Campus K-12 Interested in Participating? Resources
2022 Statistics
2021 Statistics
Tree City Communities
The Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree City program provides the framework necessary for communities to manage and expand their public trees. Hawaiʻi has proudly been participating in the program since the program’s inception with our first community, Maui who joined in 1976. Participation in the program has grown since and we continue to welcome new communities each year. Today, Hawaiʻi boasts the following Tree City USA communities:
Maui
Since 1976
City and County of Honolulu
Since 1980
Joint Base Pearl Harbor/Hickam
Since 1998
Schofield Barracks
Since 2008
Aliamanu Military Reservation
Since 2011
Helemano Military Reservation
Since 2011
Fort Shafter
Since 2011
Wheeler Army Airfield
Since 2011
Past Recognized Communities
Mililani Town (2018-2021)
ʻOhana Military Communities, Navy (2018-2022)
ʻOhana Military Communities, MCBH (2020-2022)
Tree Campus Higher Education Communities
The Tree Campus Higher Education program is also from the Arbor Day Foundation and allows colleges and universities to join the national program! This program helps them establish and sustain healthy community forests. Tree Campus schools must meet the same standards as Tree City USA communities with an additional Service Learning Project aimed at engaging the student body.
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Since 2008
Kapiʻolani Community College
Since 2019
Past Recognized Communities
Windward Community College (2019-2021)
Leeward Community College (2021)
Tree Campus K-12 Communities
In 2022, the Arbor Day Foundation added the Tree Campus K-12 program to inspire the next generation of tree stewards through experiences that bring the benefits of trees to life both inside and outside the classroom. The program fosters positive connections between youth and the trees in their community and cultivates within its participants a lifelong respect for trees on a global scale. Local student Anna Learner ’22 led efforts to establish Punahou School as the first Tree Campus K-12 community in Hawaiʻi in the programʻs first year! Le Jardin Academy (LJA) student Zoe Wiechmann completed Kaulunani’s “My Tree Campus” challenge as part of the Hawaiʻi Youth Sustainability Challenge; a collaboration between Kupu and Kōkua Hawaiʻi Foundation.
Le Jardin Academy
Since 2023
Saint Louis School
Since 2023
Past Recognized Communities
Punahou School (2022-23)
Is your community interested in becoming a Tree City or Campus?
Tree City USA
Tree City USA communities are required to establish all of the following:
- a Tree Board or Department
- a Community Tree Ordinance
- a Community Forestry Program with a minimum of at least $2 per capita
- an Arbor Day Observance and Proclamation
Learn more about the Tree City USA program on Arbor Day Foundation’s website.
Tree Campus Higher Education
Higher education institutions are required to establish all of the following:
- a campus tree advisory committee
- a campus tree care plan
- a verification of the plan’s dedicated annual expenditures
- an Arbor Day Observance
- a service-learning project aimed at engaging the student body
Learn more about the Tree Campus Higher Education program at their website.
Tree Campus K-12
Tree Campus K-12 schools must fulfill the following four goals:
- Maintain a Tree Campus Team of staff, students, and community members
- Establish an education plan to provide tree-related learning
- Provide hands-on opportunities to engage students and community members in tree-related activities
- Celebrate Arbor Day
Learn more about the Tree Campus Higher Education program at their website.
How To Apply
Applications highlight the community’s past year of accomplishments. Apply online at https://recognition.arborday.org/.
Application Timeline
|
Program |
Application Deadline |
Application Review (Kaulunani & Arbor Day Foundation) |
Final Submission Deadline |
Award Announcement |
|
Tree City USA Tree Campus Higher Education |
December 31st of each year |
February-April |
April 30 of each year |
May-June |
| Tree Campus K-12 |
June 30 of each year (End of the School Year) |
Through June *No Kaulunani review* |
June 30 of each year |
July |
Ready to get started? Reach out to Kaulunani staff to begin your application today!
Resources
Benefits of Becoming a Tree Campus
- Cultivate pilina to trees on campus, learning of their value & appreciating all of the benefits they provide.
- Involve the campus community in caring for trees and green space.
- Create new pathways that connect students to service learning and community involvement.
- Use the framework provided to create a platform for educating your school community on the benefits of trees.
- Support campus sustainability initiatives.
- Create a green and beautiful campus.
- Build a sense of campus pride!
- Receive all of the benefits of trees!!
Learn more about the benefits of trees here.
Past Informational Webinar Sessions:
- Tree Campus program slide deck (PPT)
- 09/24/2024 Tree Campus Higher Education Session Recording (Vimeo)
- 09/26/2024 Tree Campus K-12 Session Recording (Vimeo)
Questions? Contact our Tree City/Campus State Coordinator, Leʻa Kaʻahaʻaina, at [email protected].