Project Evergreen Presents First “Because Green Matters” Award to University of Akron

Project EverGreen has selected the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio as the first recipient of the organization’s “Project EverGreen: Because Green Matters” award.  Presented on Earth Day, April 22, the program was created to recognize groups or individuals who create beneficial green spaces through turf or landscape projects. The University of Akron was honored for its “New Landscape for Learning” campus enhancement initiative.

The university added 30 acres of open green spaces as part of a $300 million building addition and renovation plan. These areas feature many new and abundant landscape enhancements, including the planting of 30,000 new trees that will line the clearly defined campus connections. As an average tree produces enough oxygen for four people a day, and each acre of grass produces enough oxygen for 64 people a day, over time, these green improvements will more than support the nearly 25,000 students and faculty at the university.

The significant landscape enhancements to the campus have helped transform the “commuter” school mindset into one with a suburban feeling. It’s a gathering place for students.

"The campus now feels more like a park in the midst of its metropolitan setting," says Ted Curtis, vice president of capital planning at the University of Akron. “These vast new green spaces contribute to the university’s goal of fostering a greater sense of identity, community and cohesion.”

Curtis added that the new “green” look of the campus aids in student recruitment. “You know within 15 minutes if you’re in the running or not. Curb appeal is most definitely a silent attraction.”

 “Faculty and students spend years of their lives here, so it’s really a home away from home,” says award presenter Cindy Code, vice president of Project EverGreen. “We’re proud to recognize one of northern Ohio’s leading public universities for sponsoring green space initiatives that will benefit the surrounding community for many years to come.”

In addition to the “Because Green Matters” award, Project EverGreen recently offered a reward for the arrest and conviction of the vandals who did more than $10,000 of tree damage in the city of Medina, Ohio.

Project EverGreen’s mission is to raise the awareness of the environmental, economic and lifestyle benefits of landscapes and promote the significance of those who preserve and enhance green spaces at home, work and play.  This nonprofit organization is an alliance of green industry service (end-user) providers, associations, suppliers/distributors, media companies and other organizations.