Jamestown Community College students Bryanna Davis and Taylor Haight and others planted a Highland Park maple on JCC’s Jamestown Campus to commemorate Arbor Day and the designation of JCC as a Tree Campus USA college.

The national observance of Arbor Day, which began in 1872, is traditionally held the last Friday in April. Although delayed until the fall due to the coronavirus pandemic, JCC’s tree planting ceremony on October 21 was a perfect time to set the new tree into the ground near JCC’s Science Center.

JCC president Daniel DeMarte, who read an Arbor Day proclamation was joined at the event by Jamestown mayor Eddie Sundquist, JCC faculty, staff, and students, Jamestown city employees, and members of JCC’s tree committee.

The Tree Campus USA designation, which was first awarded by the Arbor Day Foundation to JCC in 2009, signifies a college’s dedication to campus forestry management and environmental stewardship. JCC was the first community college in New York to be named a Tree Campus USA college and has received the designation for 11 consecutive years.

The Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit conservation organization of nearly one million members, with a mission to inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees.