National Arbor Day holds a special place in Wake Forester’s hearts as the university is a certified Tree Campus Higher Education by the Arbor Day Foundation. 2025 marked Wake Forest’s 14th consecutive year being recognized, and to celebrate and continue the work, we kicked off our 2026 certification process by recognizing National Arbor Day.
Students, faculty, and staff came together in the grass between the Johnson and Babcock Residence Halls on April 25 to celebrate with a ceremonial tree planting, service learning component, and a closing cookout.
Dr. Shea Kidd Brown, Vice President of Campus Life, opened the event with a recognition of the trees, and Wesley Todd, Associate Director of Housing, read a short poem before welcoming volunteers to step up to begin the planting of the trees.
Four native trees were added to campus, including a Scarlet Oak, an Eastern Redbud ”Flamethrower” and two Flowering Dogwoods ”Appalachian Mist.” Including the three pawpaw trees planted during Wakeville, students, faculty, and staff got their hands dirty and assisted in planting seven trees during Earth Month.
Individuals were given the option to join a service-learning project or a cleanup of the wooded area behind the newly-renamed Hopkins Residence Hall. The service-learning groups split up into five areas to measure the circumference of nearby trees to be used to calculate diameter at breast height (DBH). DBH can be used to monitor tree health and growth, data that will be useful as we work to develop an updated campus tree map.
Trees tell the story of Wake Forest, and by collecting their measurements and mapping them we may better understand their health and carbon-storing potential. Trees are critical for climate change resiliency, providing valuable ecosystem services – shading buildings, filtering stormwater through their roots, maintaining soil health – and they also contribute to our mental and physical wellbeing. The groups collected data on our treasured Magnolia trees on Manchester Plaza, Willow Oaks, and Tulip Poplars in the nearby areas.
Participants completed their service and reconvened on the Babcock patio for a cookout with grass-fed beef and veggie burgers, water from the WakeWell, lawn games, and music. This event was made possible through the collaboration between The Office of Sustainability, Residence Life & Housing, and the Facilities, Real Estate, & Planning Landscaping Services & Arboriculture teams.
You can view a full gallery of photos from the event on our Flickr.