July 21, 2009 – The Mayor of Albany and Keep Albany-Dougherty Beautiful presented the Tree Stewardship Award to Albany Technical College during the Albany City Commission meeting on July 21, 2009. The award is given annually to a local business or individual in recognition of outstanding contributions to protect, preserve and enhance the urban tree canopy of Albany and Dougherty County. “Albany Tech recognizes that green space is a quality of life issue and an investment in the future of Albany,” Judy Bowles, Executive Director of Keep Albany-Dougherty Beautiful. “Through their construction phases, Albany Tech has been committed to protecting the existing trees, and they have added other trees to provide a green space legacy for future generations.”
Albany Tech’s facility department works with the ATC Environment Horticulture program to maintain the trees and other flowers and plants on campus. Earlier this year, Albany Tech was also named a Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation.
ATC met the required five core standards of tree care and community engagement in order to receive the Tree Campus USA status. Those standards are establishing a campus tree advisory committee; evidence of a campus tree-care plan; verification of dedicated annual expenditures on the campus tree-care plan; involvement in an Arbor Day observance; and the institution of a service-learning project aimed at engaging the student body.
**Photo: (Left to Right) George Paul, Environmental Horticulture Instructor; Vicki Tucker, Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness; Dr. Anthony Parker, President; Lavon Ackley, Facilities Director