Swampscott Selected as Tree City

This week, on Wednesday, the Department of Conservation and Recreation presented the 2013 Tree City USA Awards to 76 Massachusetts communities and the Tree Line USA award to National Grid, a long and faithful supporter of the DCR Urban Forestry program. 

Swampscott has received this annual award 22 times.

“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 Ed Lambert, who presented the awards. “It is important to continue this work and honor arborists statewide following the damage done to trees during the unusual weather events of the past two years.”

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. The awards recognizes communities that meet certain baseline requirements for urban and community forestry programs. 

Massachusetts has the largest number of participating Tree City USA communities in New England, and has participated in the Tree City USA Program for the past 30 years.  The program is offered by the National Arbor Day Foundation, but it is administered in each state by designated environmental agencies.  The program recognizes communities that meet certain baseline requirements for urban and community forestry programs.

Some recipients to receive an annual Tree City Award (number of years is listed) are as follows:  Amherst 26, Andover 14, Arlington 11, Avon 2, Bedford 13, Beverly 12, Boston 17, Boxford 7, Cambridge 21, Charlton 4, Chelsea 9, Dalton 13, Danvers 26, Dedham 4, Easton 21, Fall River 8, Falmouth 16, Framingham 22, Grafton, 13, Greenfield 11, Groton 17,  Hanscom Air Force Base 26, Haverhill 17, Holyoke 12, Ipswich 11, Lanesborough 8, Lawrence 11, Lexington 24, Longmeadow 11, Ludlow 7, Lynn 23, Marblehead 14, Marion 16, Milton 7, Nantucket 14, Needham 18, Newburyport 17, Newton 24, Pittsfield 8, Plymouth 24, Reading 28, Salem 11, Saugus 14, Sheffield 3, Somerville 18, Springfield 27, Stoneham 13, Sturbridge 24, Sutton 13, Swampscott 22, Wakefield 12, Waltham 14, Watertown 22, West Bridgewater 19, Westborough 4, Westfield 9, Westover ARB 16, Weymouth 13, Winchester 2, Worcester 27

Growth Awards, recognizing environmental improvement and encouraging higher levels of tree care, wereawarded Amherst, Cambridge, Fall River, Greenfield, Medford, Springfield, and Worcester. Twenty-fifth YearTree City USA Benchmark Awards were presented to Hingham, Manchester-by-the-Sea, West Springfield. Other Benchmark Awards were presented to Chicopee (20 years); Brockton, Leominster, Lowell, Medford, Orleans (15 years); Weston (10 years); and, Mattapoisett, Walpole, Warren (5 years).

National Grid received the 2013 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 TreeCampus USA award winner UMass Lowell is recognized for its dedication to the care and protection of itstrees.

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.