Working together, several faculty and students recently helped the members of the Environmental Sustainability Club and the grounds crew make the Route 202 (DeKalb Pike) parking lot a little greener at Montgomery County Community College’s Central Campus in Blue Bell.

The volunteers spent their Saturday morning on November 2 planting more than 63 trees as part of MCCC’s ongoing initiative to increase the percentage of the tree canopy on campus. The trees will help improve the environment by absorbing carbon dioxide, releasing oxygen, providing shade, reducing storm water runoff and beautifying the grounds.

Within a few hours, they planted more than 50 native Red Bud and Black Gum trees. The Red Bud trees bloom in the spring and will enhance the landscape with their colorful pinkish-purple flowers. Black Gum trees also bloom in the spring, providing a favorite nectar source for honeybees. In the fall, Black Gum trees have a brilliant, attractive foliage.

In addition to the Red Bud and Black Gum trees, the volunteers planted five native red maple trees that have a beautiful fall foliage and excellent carbon sequestration rates, as well as two Norway spruce trees.

This is MCCC’s second year of a five-year tree-planting plan. In October 2018, volunteers and members of the Rotary Club of Blue Bell planted 45 trees, donated by the Rotary Club. Those trees – also a mix of Red Bud and Black Gum – were planted in the Morris Road parking lot near the intersection with Cathcart Road.

As part of the plan, 68 trees will be planted in the Cathcart Road parking lot and along the new core connector trail in 2020.

Over the years, numerous trees have been added to MCCC’s campus landscape in Blue Bell. In 2012, honor students planted tree plantings along campus wetlands. In November 2014, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society donated 50 trees to MCCC as part of the organization’s campaign to plant 1,200 trees throughout the five-county Philadelphia area. Honor and Environmental Studies students, employees and PHS volunteers planted the trees along Loop Road at Central Campus in Blue Bell.

MCCC has a longstanding commitment to sustainability. In 2007, MCCC signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment pledge to be carbon neutral by 2050. Since signing the pledge, MCCC has been actively working to reduce its carbon footprint, incorporate sustainability into academic course programming and engage the community in sustainable practices through events like Earth Day, Sustainability Week and lectures.

The Sustainability Council - a team of employees, students, alumni and community residents - leads MCCC’s sustainability efforts. Chaired by the Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Digital Officer, Dr. Celeste Schwartz, the Council developed the institution’s Climate Commitment Action Plan.