Illinois State University gets national tree-campus title

NORMAL, Ill. (AP) - Illinois State University has once again secured a national honor for its tree friendliness.

It's been designated as a Tree Campus USA. That's a title bestowed by the Arbor Day Foundation for colleges that promote healthy management of their campus forests.

The Normal-based school said in a Thursday statement that it had to meet multiple criteria for the designation. That includes demonstrating it has a campus tree advisory committee and a campus tree-care plan.

The Arbor Day Foundation launched the Tree Campus USA program in 2008.

ISU has been given the honor seven out of the last eight years - missing out only in 2014. More than a dozen other Illinois schools have also been granted the Tree Campus USA honorific in recent years.