Tree Work Keeps Campus Beautiful

For the fifth year in a row, Truman has received a Tree Resource Improvement and Maintenance (TRIM) grant from the Missouri Department of Conservation.

TRIM grants offer cost-share funding for government agencies, schools and nonprofit groups to manage, improve or conserve trees on public lands. The 2023-24 grant is specifically for the removal of unhealthy and invasive trees on campus for pedestrian safety, and the amount total is more than $27,000.

In recent years, the Midwest has experienced substantial damage from the emerald ash borer. Some trees on campus already damaged by the destructive wood-boring pest were removed to prevent additional spread. Along with the ash trees there will be several invasive pear trees removed in the coming weeks, in addition to the annual tree trimming conducted by groundskeepers.

In October, Truman is scheduled to receive free trees from Forest ReLeaf of Missouri. The local Conservation Department has organized a community effort in northeast Missouri to have a truck load of trees brought to Kirksville through Project Communitree, some of which will be planted on campus.

Truman has been recognized as a Tree Campus USA school since 2014 by the Arbor Day Foundation for its dedication to sustainable urban forest management. The University has been able to maintain this designation thanks in large part to Yvette Amerman and the Missouri Department of Conservation.