Olivia Burton
For the 22nd year in a row, Mountain Brook has again been named a Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation. This year, the city also received a Tree City USA Growth Award for demonstrating environmental improvement and a higher level of tree care.
The Arbor Day Foundation works in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters.
“Tree City USA communities see the impact an urban forest has in a community first hand,” said Dan Lambe, President of the Arbor Day Foundation according to a release. “Additionally, recognition brings residents together and creates a sense of community pride, whether it’s through volunteer engagement or public education.”
In order to be selected, Mountain Brook continued to comply with the program’s four requirements: the creation of a tree board or department, an ordinance giving the commission authority to create an annual forestry work plan, an annual forestry budget of approximately $2 per resident and an annual Arbor Day proclamation. Don Cafaro, Mountain Brook’s senior arborist, works with the city’s Tree Commission, a board of nine volunteers, to care for the city’s trees.
-City of Mountain Brook
