Clemson University is the first organization to earn the Sustainable Forestry Initiative’s (SFI) full Urban and Community Forest Sustainability Standard certification. The achievement was announced April 25, 2025, in honor of Arbor Day. The certification highlights Clemson’s commitment to managing its campus trees and green spaces in ways that provide long-term benefits for students, faculty, staff and the broader community. This marks Clemson’s second SFI certification. In 2013, its 18,000-acre Experimental Forest became the first university forest certified to the SFI Forest Management Standard. It has maintained that certification ever since, establishing the University as a pioneer in forest management and a hub for forestry education and outreach statewide. Patricia Layton, forestry professor and director of the Clemson University Wood Utilization & Design Institute, led the certification effort.