By CVTC News Bureau
An Earth Day event today (April 22) at Chippewa Valley Technical College served as the public springboard for an effort to gain Tree Campus USA recognition for the college.
Horticulture Club students gave away tree seedlings in observance of Arbor Day (April 24) to meet one of the criteria for Tree City USA recognition. Meanwhile, several CVTC programs and some private businesses and organizations were displaying their efforts at environmentally friendly initiatives.
The Tree Campus USA recognition effort is an independent study project by Olivia Myers of Eau Claire, a student in CVTC’s Landscape, Plant and Turf Management program. Myers took on the project with the encouragement of instructor Susan Frame.
“I thought it would be great for our campus, especially with the new Energy Education Center going in,” Myers said.
Begun in 2008 by the National Arbor Day Foundation and sponsored by Toyota, Tree Campus USA seeks to promote healthy trees and student involvement, similar to the Tree City USA program of which Eau Claire is a member. According to Myers, in Wisconsin only UW Center-Fox Valley, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Stevens Point and Western Wisconsin Technical College in La Crosse are recognized by Tree Campus USA.
Myers said that to gain the recognition, CVTC must meet five criteria, including creation of a committee, a campus tree care plan, an Arbor Day observance and a service-learning project.
“This is a white spruce give-away event,” Myers said as she and fellow students prepared the seedlings for distribution. “It’s a hardy tree that’s a good choice for most sites. Paint Creek Nursery in Cadott provided 200 trees. This is meeting our Arbor Day observance standard.”
CVTC’s application for Tree Campus USA is due by Dec. 31; a decision on who will receive the recognition is due next year.
In other areas of the Earth Day observance at CVTC:
- Students in the Agriscience Technician program displayed a pilot project-sized anaerobic digester, which produces methane from animal manure that can then be used to provide energy for a farm. Also on display were samples of biodiesel fuels derived from products like sunflower seeds and soybeans.
- Horticulture students had additional plant giveaways and displayed hydroponic growing systems.
- Students in the Environmental Refrigeration, Air Conditioning & Heating Service Technician program displayed a sun oven that typically reaches a temperature of 250 degrees but can reach up to 370 degrees on solar power.
- Residential Construction students demonstrated home water-saving techniques.
- Among the businesses and organizations with displays were Citizens Climate Lobby, Eau Claire Area Transit, Eau Claire Energy Co-op, Just Local Foods and Next Step Energy.