Sheridan College has been honored by the Arbor Day Foundation for its tree management practices. It's the eighth consecutive year the college has received the Tree Campus USA distinction and was the first in the state to do so.
Sheridan College Grounds Maintenance Supervisor Zack Houck said there are 44 varieties and 23 different species of trees, with more than 500 trees total on campus.
He said there's a lot of work that goes into trying to keep up a diverse canopy of trees.
"Not only that, but also to kind of preserve some of our older trees on campus, with construction, and so forth. Wyoming, in general, is a tough place to grow trees," he said. "We do have tree loss every year, so we want to stay ahead of that."
Colleges who receive the Tree Campus USA honor must meet five standards for how they manage their trees.
Houck said each year his team works with students on service projects.
"That's a really neat part of the whole process is getting our students out and engaging with them and teaching them about trees and the importance of having a healthy tree canopy and the benefits they do [have]. The ecological services that trees provided are pretty amazing," he said.
Houck added it's especially important to keep tree canopies healthy and diverse, especially as the climate changes.
Have a question about this story? Contact the reporter, Catherine Wheeler, at cwheel11@uwyo.edu.
