2023 Arbor Day celebration honors Western's commitment to Tree Campus designation
Jeff Eckert, certified arborist, and Jeff Spoelstra, director of Western's Office for Sustainability, help plant a pagoda dogwood.
Darrell Junkins speaks to Western employees gathered outside Haenicke Hall for the Arbor Day celebration.
Two pagoda dogwoods are among the trees planted on Arbor Day.
Jeff Eckert rakes dirt around the newly planted tree.
Western has been consistently recognized as a Tree Campus since the program was launched in 2008.
The Arbor Day Foundation recognized Western as a Tree Campus Higher Education.
Darrell Junkins tells the Arbor Day crowd about the new trees being planted.
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Western Michigan University celebrated Arbor Day by adding three new trees to campus on Friday, April 28. The two pagoda dogwoods and giant dogwood now stand outside the southeast corner of Haenicke Hall, replacing a large shingle oak tree that fell victim to the late February ice storm. Acting as Western's resident Lorax, Darrell Junkins, grounds supervisor, spoke for the three trees, which he deemed guests of honor at the celebration.
"Wildlife love these trees, so they will make a nice habitat for things such as butterflies, songbirds and water birds," says Junkins. "This is the 17th year we have been doing this. I think this is the perfect time for all of us to pause, inhale, exhale, take a breath and congratulate yourselves on a job well done. … Congratulations (to Landscape Services) on making campus look so beautiful."
The celebration also recognized the University's recent Tree Campus Higher Education designation by the Arbor Day Foundation. In order to achieve this distinction, the University had to meet five core standards for effective campus forest management, including establishing a tree advisory committee, having a tree care plan, dedicating annual expenditures for a campus tree program, hosting an Arbor Day observance and sponsoring student service-learning projects.
Western was among the inaugural recipients of the Tree Campus designation in 2008 and prides itself in continually upholding the standards to remain a green campus committed to environmental stewardship. It's also a point of personal pride for Junkins, whose passion for trees has roots in his childhood.
"My education nearly 40 years ago was in landscaping, and I grew up on a farm in a rural atmosphere climbing apple trees as a kid. I just have always loved trees," he says. "My entire life, I've planted or been part of planting trees all over the country. They have so many benefits to them, it's almost innumerable."
Junkins hopes to work with Jeff Eckert and other certified arborists on campus to showcase the diverse array of trees across Western's campus on a walking tour in the future.
"Being a university and having this campus and having the space that kind of creates a preserve for these trees—I think it's important for us to highlight that," says Eckert, pointing out that campus is a living laboratory. Dr. Todd Barkman, professor of biological sciences, incorporates the campus vegetation into his classes. "We want to continue planting trees that he can use for his classes, because if it's an investment for campus, it should be an investment for students."
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