Street Superintendent and City Arborist Brian Green was recently notified of the city’s successful Tree City USA Growth Award application. The Tree City USA Growth Award is presented by the Arbor Day Foundation to participating Tree City USA communities that demonstrate higher levels of tree care and community engagement during the calendar year. The Growth Award is bestowed to a community alongside of their Tree City USA status.
The Growth Award recognizes major milestones and annual activities in five categories that combine to build sustainable community forestry programs over the long term. Those categories include 1.) Building the Team; 2.) Measuring Trees & Forests; 3.) Planning the Work; 4.) Performing the Work; and 5.) The Community Framework. Each activity within the five categories has a value between 1 and 10 points, and communities must document activities that total at least 10 points—from any of the subcategories—to receive the Growth Award for the calendar year.
Some of the activities accomplished by the Sidney Tree Board and the Urban Forestry division during 2022 include:
- Held a successful Tree Lottery Program for the Fall Street Tree Plantings with 60 entries; 33 trees were planted
- Held the annual tree sale with six specifies from which to choose. Fourteen customers placed orders for a total of 57 trees.
- Increased the 2022 street tree planting budget by $5,000.
- Refined the list of approved street trees.
- Removed seven hazardous trees,
- Pruned 10% of street trees.
- Provided six weeks of leaf collection
- Provided one week of stump grinding