By Dahlia Weinstein and Daniel Wu
American University excels each year in making their campus eco-friendly and carbon neutral, creating a more inviting and relaxed atmosphere for students, staff and neighborhood residents.
Since 2003, the campus grounds have become an arboretum to be more engaging. It offers more than 4,000 trees and 385 different species.
John Wilkes has found respite from the pandemic in the campus greenery. Wilkes has walked around campus every day since March 2020.
“It’s just a very pleasant, ambient space to be able to be in,” Wilkes said.
Wilkes isn’t alone in recognizing the campus’ beauty.
In 2021, Best Choice Schools ranked American University as the fourth “Most Beautiful Urban Campus.”
American’s campus reached new heights in 1997 when Michael Mastrota, the current Arboretum Manager, was hired. The idea he had in mind for the campus grounds was for it to be safer and more pleasing to the eye.
“We thought what we were doing could be quite an educational piece… and having a nice place to be is so good for your mental psyche and well-being,” Mastrota said.
To Mastrota, the most important change made during his time at American University was when the parking lots were moved from surface to underground lots. According to him, it freed up space to grow new plants and reduced pollution from cars and runoff.
Another significant development was the switch to permeable sidewalks, which lets rainwater soak naturally into soil. This allows plants to absorb more nutrients, reduces the strain on the district’s storm pipes, and ensures pollutants in runoff do not reach the Potomac River or Chesapeake Bay.
Mastrota also pointed out a landmark on campus: a scarlet oak that is at least 130 years old. A scarlet oak is the official tree of Washington D.C. and has been on campus grounds before American University was founded in 1893.
After a lot of hard work from over 20 grounds staff, American University has became a hot spot for tourists and locals especially during the pandemic.
One of those locals is Jim Yenckel, who has been coming to campus six mornings a week since it closed due to the pandemic.
Yenckel comes to American University for his morning walks because of the blossoming flowers; both annual and perennial.
He also loves the dawn redwood trees at the bottom of the amphitheater and a stream that he describes as a “bubbling bathtub.”
People walk on American University campus.
Photo by Daniel Wu.