Batavia Named 'Tree City USA' For 25th Time

BATAVIA, IL — Once again, Batavia has been recognized as a Tree City USA. The Kane County city has maintained this title for the past 25 years, officials said.

To be considered a Tree City, Batavia met several requirements: forming a tree commission, creating a tree-care ordinance, having an annual community forestry budget of at least $2 per capita, and observing and proclaiming Arbor Day.

Ahead of Arbor Day on April 29 — a holiday Batavia Mayor Jeffery Schielke proclaimed at the April 19 City Council meeting — officials announced a new project is underway, one that will measure and catalog the city's largest native trees and recognize Batavia's "outstanding" urban forest.

The Batavia Big Tree Program, led by the Batavia Environmental Commission and the Batavia Tree Commission, will use guidelines developed by the Illinois Forestry Extension, administered by the Illinois Big Tree Registry program.

As part of the project, volunteers will accept nominations, measure nominated trees and manage data, according to a news release.

"A Batavia Big Tree is simply…a big tree! It is the largest non-invasive tree (taking into account circumference, height, and crown spread) of a particular species within Batavia," reads a description of the program. "Winning big tree status carries no legal implications or protections."

"The vision of the Batavia Big Tree Program is to recognize outstanding trees within the City of Batavia and develop a robust inventory of Batavia’s urban forest on both public and private land, encouraging Batavia residents to be outdoors, and educating and inspiring residents to engage with and appreciate their community trees," Carolyn Burnham, a member of the Batavia Environmental Commission, said in a statement.

To maintain the city's forestry, Batavia offers a 50/50 Parkway Tree Program where residents can purchase a parkway tree and pay half the cost of the tree. The various trees are locally grown and selected because they're known to thrive in city parkways, officials said.

Residents interested in the program, where several trees are available for spring and fall planting, can find more information on the city's website.