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ESF Searches Lead to 1,000 Trees Added to the World’s Forests
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — April 22, 2026 — Students at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) celebrated the 1,000-tree milestone reached by using Ecosia, a search engine that transforms clicks into trees on Earth Day.
In 2025, ESF joined the Ecosia on Campus campaign, working with the College’s IT Department to set the tree-planting search engine, Ecosia, as the default search engine on ESF campus computers.
Since then, every click counts, as students transform routine web searches into a global tree-planting effort. During Earth Week, ESF celebrated the trees students have added to forests worldwide. The Red Sunset Maple was planted in front of Baker Laboratory.
Led by Oakie’s Green Team, a sustainability-focused student group, ESF is leading the way to make internet searches greener SUNY-wide. Approximately every 50 searches funds a tree.
Everyday our students strive to improve our world. Our Mighty Oaks are planting a tree on the ESF campus to celebrate reaching the Ecosia on Campus 1000-tree milestone,” said ESF President Joanie Mahoney. “It is a wonderful way to show the world how infusing sustainability into even the most routine tasks can make a difference. Congratulations to Oakie’s Green Team for taking the initiative and making another change to support our planet.”
Ecosia, the world’s largest not-for-profit search engine, invests its ad revenue in climate action, primarily tree-planting projects in over 35 countries.
“They’re also solar powered and privacy friendly,” said Kathryn White, president of Oakie’s Green Team. “They don’t create personal profiles of you or track what you're searching.” Ecosia also has its own “green AI” which is solar-powered and energy-efficient. It also focuses on finding more eco-friendly answers to queries.
Ecosia tracks the number of searches performed on the ESF computers and provides monthly reports that estimate the number of trees planted, the amount of carbon sequestered, and the amount of oxygen generated.
Ecosia is the default search engine on all the computers in ESF’s computer labs and Moon Library.
With Ecosia established at ESF, OGT’s next goal is SUNY-wide adoption. White is excited about the impact systemwide use of Ecosia could have on the environment with 375,000 students united in planting thousands of trees through everyday searches.
About SUNY ESF
The SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) is dedicated to the study of the environment, developing renewable technologies, and building a sustainable and resilient future through design, policy, and management of the environment and natural resources. Members of the College community share a passion for protecting the health of the planet and a deep commitment to the rigorous application of science to improve the way humans interact with the world. The College offers academic programs ranging from the associate of applied science to the Doctor of Philosophy. ESF students live, study and do research on the main campus in Syracuse, N.Y., and on 25,000 acres of field stations in a variety of ecosystems across the state.