Tree Campus Jumpstart stipend will support educational signage, seating, and hands-on learning in campus woodland

FRANKFORT, Ky. — A wooded trail on Kentucky State University’s campus will become a more visible outdoor classroom through new educational signage and seating funded by a $5,000 Tree Campus Jumpstart stipend.

Funding supports the University’s broader effort to pursue Tree Campus Higher Education recognition, a national program that helps colleges and universities strengthen campus forestry programs, care for trees, and engage students in service-learning.

Focused on Thorobred Trail, the project will add interpretive signs to help students, faculty, staff, and visitors learn about tree identification, ecological functions, forest health challenges, and the role urban forests play in environmental and mental health. Planned seating areas will support small-group instruction, individual study, and reflection, making the trail a practical extension of the classroom.

Students will participate in service-learning experiences such as tree inventories, invasive plant management, and wildlife monitoring through Kentucky State’s expanding Natural Resources program. Those experiences are designed to introduce students to concepts in urban forestry, ecological enhancement, and responsible land management.

“This award helps us make the campus woodland more accessible as a teaching and learning space,” said Anna Claire Rogers, Extension and research associate for forestry and invasive plants. “By adding interpretive signs and seating, we can help students see the trees around them as part of a living classroom — one they can study, help care for, and feel connected to over time.”

Project plans include new educational signage, seating, and related installation materials along Thorobred Trail.

Kentucky State’s effort reflects a phased approach to campus tree stewardship. University leaders are focusing first on assessing and improving existing campus trees and woodland areas, strengthening grounds and landscaping capacity, and continuing work through an active Campus Tree Advisory Committee and finalized campus tree care plan before expanding future plantings.

“Practical learning and responsible stewardship are central to Kentucky State’s land-grant mission,” said Dr. Marcus Bernard, dean of the College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources and Land Grant director. “These efforts along Thorobred Trail bring those values together in ways that benefit students and strengthen the campus environment.”

In pursuing Tree Campus Higher Education recognition, Kentucky State continues to align its work with the program’s standards, including campus tree planning, advisory committee engagement, and student service-learning projects.

Recent tree stewardship efforts also complement Kentucky State’s Bee Campus USA designation, which recognized the University’s work to expand native pollinator habitat, refine land-management practices, and advance applied research supporting pollinator health.

The Thorobred Trail improvements also align with campus habitat enhancement work supported by the National Wildlife Federation. That earlier project helped Kentucky State install purpose-built nest boxes, remove invasive plant species, and restore native vegetation to support woodpeckers and other native birds in a highly visible campus natural area.

Together, the initiatives reflect a growing campuswide commitment to experiential learning, environmental stewardship, and the responsible care of natural spaces that support students, research, and the broader community.

Kentucky State is a proud partner of the Arbor Day Foundation. The Tree Campus Jumpstart stipend is made possible through a partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation and Origins.