VSU Holds Arbor Day Celebration Feb.17

VALDOSTA -- Valdosta State University will join the Valdosta Tree Commission to host the annual Arbor Day Ceremony on Friday, Feb. 17, at 10 a.m. on the VSU front lawn.

During the ceremony, the City of Valdosta will be honored as a Tree City USA community for its 26th consecutive year. VSU will also come one step closer to its designation as Tree Campus USA university, making it one of six universities in Georgia to have this designation.

According to ArborDay.org, the Tree Campus USA program recognizes campuses that “effectively manage their campus trees; develop connectivity with the community beyond campus borders to foster healthy, urban forests; and strive to engage their student population utilizing service learning opportunities center on campus, and community, forestry efforts.” The standards for Tree Campus USA designation include having a campus tree advisory committee, a campus tree care plan, a service learning project, a tree program with dedicated annual expenditures and an annual observance of Arbor Day.

The Valdosta Tree Commission will also present VSU with a planting award and legacy award saluting Elizabeth “Bette” Bechtel, a retired biology instructor who served as the university’s first recycling committee chair.

The Arbor Day Celebration also includes remarks from Valdosta Mayor John Gayle as well as the planting of a live oak tree on the front lawn.

For more information about the Arbor Day Celebration, contact Brett Ganas, assistant director of landscape and grounds, at (229) 333-5399.