On April 1, the University of New Mexico hosted a campus tree celebration with speakers, live-music, a seed-swap, tree-shaped cookies and a live tree-planting demonstration. The event corresponded with the beginning of April as Earth Month.
For the first time, UNM was recognized as a higher education “Tree Campus” by the Arbor Day Foundation. To qualify for the designation, an institution must meet certain criteria — including having a campus tree advisory committee, a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for trees, annual Arbor Day observance and a service learning project that encourages student engagement, according to UNM Director of Sustainability Anne Jakle.
The spoken portion of the event sought to address the past, present and future of UNM trees.
“In 1905, the University President William Tight started planting trees on campus. He started with the ponderosa pines behind Hodgin Hall,” said Vice President for Institutional Support Services Shawna Wolfe. “This simple act set into motion the culture of tree-planting and care that continues today.”
UNM Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Teresa Costantinidis said trees are not just an aesthetically pleasing part of UNM’s landscape.
“They clean our air, they provide cooling shade during our increasingly hot summers and enhance the quality of life for students, faculty, staff and visitors,” Costantinidis said.
New Mexico, when seen on a heat map, is cooler than the areas around it partly because of its tree canopy, according to Costantinidis.
“In a time where finding common ground can be difficult, it turns out there is one thing most Americans can still agree on: trees are worth celebrating,” Costantinidis said.
She cited a Pew Research survey that found that 90% of Americans across the political spectrum supported planting trees to curb climate change.
Jakle said the UNM Office of Sustainability is relatively new; it was founded in March 2024. She said she hopes events like this will bring attention to the office and its goals.
“I think we really need to grow the culture of sustainability at UNM and raise the visibility of some of the amazing things that are already taking place, but that the campus community doesn’t know about,” Jakle said.
The event also featured a demonstration from UNM grounds manager Rich Schorr and arborists Adam Barber and Evan Lehman-Baker on how to properly plant a Shumard oak.
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Jakle said she also hopes the event will inspire people to reflect on and value UNM’s trees.
“I’m hoping they’ll pause and take a moment to really appreciate what an incredible resource our campus’ trees are. I think we walk underneath them all the time and don’t really stop to think about how unique this is in our desert environment, but also how much care and attention has to go into maintaining them,” Jakle said. “Just a moment of appreciation for our beautiful campus, and all the trees bring us.”
UNM will continue to host Earth Month-themed events throughout the month of April.
Addison Fulton is the culture editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
