University of Maryland: A Tree AND Bike-Friendly Campus

The University of Maryland received two honors this month that further bolster its reputation as an environmentally friendly campus.

The League of American Bicyclists selected UMd. as one of 20 Bicycle Friendly Universities from across the country. The awards were determined based on how well a campus satisfied the "5 Es": engineering, encouragement, education, enforcement and evaluation.

UMd. was one of eight schools to earn a bronze designation. Top honors went to Stanford, the only school to score a platinum ranking.

And for the third year in a row, the University of Maryland has been designated a "Tree Campus USA" by the Arbor Day Foundation.

According to an article by the UM Newsdesk, UMd. met the five core standards of tree care and community engagement that led to it receiving the honor. The standards are: establish a campus tree advisory committee; evidence of a campus tree-care plan; verification of dedicated annual expenditures on the campus tree-care plan; involvement in an Arbor Day observance; and the institution of a service-learning project aimed at engaging the student body.

Tree Campus USA is a national program that honors colleges and universities for promoting healthy management of their campus forests and for engaging the community in environmental stewardship.