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Creighton University is a Tree Campus

For the 8th year in a row, Creighton University has been awarded a Tree Campus USA designation. The campus features more than 3000 trees in over 100 different species.

Jessica Heller, Creighton’s landscape supervisor and resident horticulturist and arborist, says a decade ago the campus had a lot of trees but little diversity among species types. 

Heller says her personal goal has been to increase the varieties of trees growing on the campus as much as she can. 

She says she and her staff take into account the potential diseases and insect issues that could be a problem by choosing the hardiest species they can.

"We are having a lot of Fire Blade issues recently on our crab apples and pears and things of that family.  So what we are trying to do is get a lot of different things out there so when these massive insect and disease issues come through, the impact as a whole isn’t as great.  So we are trying to get back to making our landscape look like a Nebraska landscape.”

Heller says in order to earn a Tree Campus USA designation, colleges have to do at least one service learning project through the year that engages the student population about trees and their benefits. 

She says the school also has to hold an Arbor Day observance.