The campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is set in the gently rolling piedmont of central North Carolina and throughout its 217-year history there has been a concerted effort to develop a campus that displays a balance of buildings, landscapes, open space, and natural areas. The campus was recognized as a national landmark for outstanding landscape architecture in 1999 by the American Society of Landscape Architects and received a national Green Star award for campus beauty from the Professional Grounds Management Society in 2005.  The university community regards the campus landscape as one of its most valuable assets, and as the university continues to grow, there has been a concerted effort to maintain the beauty and diversity that are considered part of the Carolina tradition.