Ball State University
Tier2-3: Tree Campus USA

At the present Ball State University has not completed its designation as a Tree Campus USA program, but it is in the process of examining the application process. Ball State University has a long commitment to its campus forest. In 1990 a Campus Reforestation Plan was implemented. Part of this plan recognized the need to increase the quantity and variety of campus trees. Goals were set to increase the number of trees from 3,500 to 7,000 and the species/cultivars from 250 to 650 by the year 2000. Today the number of campus trees is over 8,000 with 625 different species/cultivars. The campus forest has been inventoried and cataloged electronically through a GIS program. Unfortunately due to limited funding the system has not been maintained although new plantings and removals have been documented on paper. This system will be updated the summer of 2011. The university also maintains a university tree nursery located on 8 acres north of campus. The tree nursery is used to grow trees not readily found in the commercial trade. Landscape Services owns two tree spades for harvesting and contracts with an outside contractor to harvest those trees above 3 ½”. At the present time the nursery has 800 trees in various stages of growth. In the fall of 2010, thirty trees with a trunk diameter of 4 ½” were planted throughout campus and 110 trees were planted back into the nursery for future growth. Additionally Ball State employs two full time arborists with a bucket truck to maintain the campus trees.