Elon University
IN-26: Innovation C

In February 2017, Elon University participated in an urban tree planting pilot program with a 100-tree planting. The trees were planted in Greensboro, NC’s Price Park by City of Greensboro and Greensboro Beautiful staff and volunteers, including a group from Elon. The planting is located about 40 minutes (or approximately 26 miles) from the university’s main campus in Elon, NC and about 15 minutes (or approximately 7 miles) from Elon’s School of Law campus in Greensboro. Elon provided the funding for the February 2017 planting, and the carbon offsets generated by this project will contribute toward Elon’s carbon neutrality goal in the future. In addition to involving Elon students in the planting, students will also have the opportunity to learn about forestry offsets and data collection through research projects involving the planting. The pilot program was developed by Duke University’s Carbon Offsets Initiative (DCOI) and Urban Offsets. Urban Offsets partnered with the City of Greensboro and Greensboro Beautiful to identify the planting location, and the City of Greensboro is maintaining the trees. On a regular basis, detailed data will be collected on the trees, and the carbon offsets generated by the project will be verified by a peer institution. The experiences and lessons learned from the pilot program will help inform the development of similar programs in other areas and contribute toward a best practices guide.