Thanks are in order to town officials and especially our DPW. Milton is among the 84 Massachusetts communities to be presented with the 2011 Tree City USA Awards from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).
The awards are sponsored by the National Arbor Day foundation to honor communities committed to urban forestry. To receive designation as an official Tree City, municipalities must meet four criteria: they must establish a department devoted to tree care, spend at least $2 per capita per year on urban forestry, enforce laws protecting public trees, and host an Arbor Day celebration.
“DCR is proud of the cities and towns across the Commonwealth that have devoted so many resources to planting and caring for their trees,” said DCR Commissioner Edward M. Lambert, who presented the awards. “It is a special year to honor arborists statewide following the damage done to trees during the unusual weather events in 2011.”
Communities receiving Tree City USA Awards for 2011, and number of years participating, are:
Amesbury (16), Andover (13), Bedford (12), Belmont (27), Bernardston (5), Beverly (11), Boston (16), Boxford (6), Brockton (14), Brookline (24), Charlton (3), Chelsea (8), Chicopee (19), Dalton (12), Dedham (3), Duxbury (21), Fall River (7), Framingham (21), Grafton (12), Groton (16), Haverhill (16), Hingham (24), Holyoke (11), Lanesborough (7), Leominster (14), Lexington (23), Lowell (14), Ludlow (6), Lynn (22), Lynnfield (7), Manchester (24), Marblehead (13), Marshfield (17), Mattapoisett (4), Medford (14), Milton (6), Nantucket (13), Needham (17), New Bedford (12), Newburyport (16), Newton (23), North Adams (16), Northampton (7), Orleans (14), Peabody (16), Pittsfield (7), Plymouth (23), Reading (27), Saugus (13), Scituate (12), Sherborn (12), Somerville (17), Springfield (26), Stoneham (12), Sturbridge (23), Sutton (12), Swampscott (21), Wakefield (11), Warren (4), Watertown (21), Wellesley (29), West Springfield (24), West Bridgewater (18), West Springfield (24), Westborough (3), Westfield (8), Weston (9), Weymouth (12), Winthrop (6), Worcester (26).
In addition to the above municipal awards, the University of Massachusetts at Lowell received the 2011 Tree Campus USA award for the second year, also winning in 2010.
Growth Awards, recognizing environmental improvement and encouraging higher levels of tree care, were awarded to Wellesley (10 years), Cambridge, Fall River, Lawrence, Medford and Worcester. Twenty-fifth Year Tree City USA Benchmark Awards were presented to Amherst, Danvers, and Hanscom Air Force Base. Other Benchmark Awards were presented to Cambridge (20 years); Falmouth, Marion, and Westover Air Reserve Base (15 years); Arlington, Greenfield, Ipswich, Lawrence, and Salem (10 years); and, Bernardston (5 years).
National Grid received the 2011 Tree Line USA Award for meeting standards in quality tree care, ongoing worker training, and tree-planting and educational programs. Tree Line USA awards recognize public and private utilities across the nation demonstrating practices to protect and enhance urban forests.
The Tree City USA and Tree Line USA awards programs are sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation, in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters, and are administered by DCR’s Urban and Community Forestry Program. NSTAR cosponsored today’s event.