Alpena Maintains Tree City Distinction

If you take a look outside, spring has officially sprung. Crocuses are popping up, baby birds are chirping, and Bayview Park just got a few new trees to add to the spring spirit.

The City of Alpena celebrated Arbor Day today by planting five new red maple trees in Bayview Park. The young saplings were generously donated by Home Depot’s vendor Cottage Gardens, and Home Depot Employees donated their time and effort today to put those little trees into the ground. Its no secret the trees will improve the park’s aesthetic, but today’s tree planting went a little deeper than that.

“The goal is to go ahead and continue the work that we did last year, and also to go ahead and help Alpena earn the designation of Tree City,” says Home Depot Community Captain Jerry Plohocky.

What is a Tree City? Well, more than 3,400 communities across the country have made a commitment to being Tree Cities. To achieve this status, communities have to meet four core standards of sound urban forestry management: maintaining a tree board or department, having a community tree ordinance, spending at least 2 dollars per capita on urban forestry, and celebrating Arbor Day. And for years, Alpena has made that commitment.

“This is a tradition that Home Depot and the City of Alpena has worked on probably for the past 5–6 years,” Plohocky adds.

The Tree City USA Program, initiated by the Arbor Day Foundation, works to green up cities and towns across the nation by providing the framework necessary for communities to manage and expand their public trees. And today, in Bayview Park, Alpena did their part.