photo by Chattanooga Department of Public Works
photo by Chattanooga Department of Public Works
photo by Chattanooga Department of Public Works
photo by Chattanooga Department of Public Works
Last week, the City of Chattanooga hosted an Arbor Day celebration on Friday, and a tree planting event on Saturday.
Arbor Day encourages the planting of both forest and shade trees, flowers and wildlife habitats with the intention to improve the attractiveness of the streets, livability of the area, and the act of planting of trees with local volunteers works to build strong neighborhoods through teamwork.
On Arbor Day on Friday, remarks were made by Gene Hyde, City Forester, and Grace Wooten, Tennessee Division of Forestry, presented the City of Chattanooga an award for being a Tree City for 29 years. Mayor Andy Berke proclaimed the day, Arbor Day, in Chattanooga, and City Councilman Anthony Byrd dedicated a tree to Mr. John Henry, a leader in the Park Central neighborhood and in Chattanooga.
On Saturday, an additional 43 trees were planted for a total of 44 new trees along Central Avenue. On Saturday 20 volunteers from the neighborhood, UTC students, and Volkswagen employees all worked together to plant the trees. Jon Nessle, a Board Certified Master Arborist, instructed the group on proper tree planting.
The Tree City USA program has been greening up cities and towns across America since 1976. It is a nationwide movement that provides the framework necessary for communities to manage and expand their public trees. More than 3,400 communities have made a commitment to becoming a Tree City USA. Chattanooga has achieved Tree City USA status by meeting four core standards of sound urban forestry management; maintaining a tree board or department, having a community tree ordinance, spending at least $2.00 per capita on urban forestry, and celebrating Arbor Day. Find out more about the Tree City USA program at www.arborday.org.