The group behind Arbor Day has named the Town of Greenburgh as a world champion of urban forestry for the second year in a row.
Run by the Arbor Day Foundation and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, the Tree Cities of the World program recognizes cities and towns committed to ensuring their urban forests and trees are properly maintained, sustainably managed, and duly celebrated, and aims to help cities share best practices for forest management, the program’s website states. Candidates must have a designated manager for their urban forest, set rules and policies (with penalties) for tree care, maintain a tree inventory, create a budget for tree management, and hold an annual tree celebration.
The Town of Greenburgh, as part of a 2018 grant awarded by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, had a Street Tree Inventory conducted and a Community Forest Management Plan prepared. The results of this endeavor will help Greenburgh better understand its urban forest’s composition, structure, and tree maintenance needs, plan for short-term and long-term resource allocation, and provide a valuable tool for the Town to promote the economic, environmental, and social benefits its trees provide to the community.
The Town also employs dedicated arborists, and holds annual events celebrating trees, such as Arbor Day, and Earth Week with the Greenburgh Nature Center.
Greenburgh, along with New York City, were the only two communities to be named in New York State.
Visit treecitiesoftheworld.org for more details. Thank you to Aaron Schmidt, our Deputy Commissioner of Community Development and Conservation, and members of the Conservation Advisory Council for their help in drafting and lobbying for a tree law.
PAUL FEINER