Planning for the Future
FIU's Campus Master Plan includes a commitment to preserve undeveloped upland habitats in their natural state to protect biodiversity on campus. This can be found in the opening paragraph of the plan's Conservation Element.
Explore this page to learn more about our policies for campus forests and natural living laboratories dedicated to environmental resilience and campus sustainability.
FIU is a Tree Campus USA
Florida International University is the first university in Florida to earn the Tree Campus USA designation from the Arbor Day Foundation for our preservation and management of trees on campus. As a proud member, we engage our students in service learning and reach beyond campus borders to connect with the community to foster healthy, urban forests.
Mangrove Forest
FIU's Biscayne Bay Campusos surrounded by mangrove forests on the north, northeast, and west, and the Biscayne Bay Aquatic Preserve on the south and southeast. For more than a decade, FIU has led the Adopt a Mangrove initiative, planting thousands of mangroves here and throughout South Florida. Currently, five species of mangroves reside along our campus.
Nature Preserve
FIU features an 11-acre Nature Preserve that has been designated as an on-campus botanical and wildlife area. Three distinct ecosystems within the preserve provide habitat for 266 species of wildlife that call our preserve home. There is also an organic fruit and vegetable garden that attracts people and pollinators alike.
Palmetum
FIU features one of the largest university collections of palm trees in the United States. What began as a reforestation effort after Hurricane Andrew has grown into a showcase of the great diversity that exists within the palm family. More than 60 species are featured on campus, including protected species, along with educational signage throughout.
Educational Arboretum Goal
Committed to effectively managing our tree canopy, FIU has included plans to create an accredited educational arboretum on campus. More information about the proposed education arboretum is available online in the university's Campus Master Plan under Goal 1, Objective 1.2.
Butterfly Gardens
On FIU's campuses, butterfly gardens provide refuge, sustenance and place to lay eggs for the important pollinatores. Many of the gardens have been planted with the help of community volunteers and attract a variety of species including queens and sulphurs as well as IUCN Red Listed monarchs and Schaus swallowtails and Florida-protected atala butterflies.
International Center for Tropical Botany at The Kampong
The FIU International Center for Tropical Botany is a research and education center focused on preservation of tree canopies, improving pollination, combatting plant extinction and more. The center is surrounded by a living laboratory of native plants and is adjacent to The Kampong, historic home of famed plant explorer David Fairchild and a national tropical botanical garden operated in collaboration with FIU.