Town Of Smithtown Celebrates 37 Years Of 'Tree City USA' Designation

SMITHTOWN, NY — The Town of Smithtown Department of Environment and Waterways (DEW) and its tree planting program have secured the title of "Tree City USA" for the township for the 37th year, the town announced.

The team of Urban Foresters are gearing up for Arbor Day in April with a ceremonial tree planting at the Senior Citizens Center. Additionally, the department will plant 150 new street trees around town for the spring season. The Urban Forestry team plans to plant a total of 500 trees by the end of 2024.

"This award validates the town’s commitment and investment towards maintaining a healthy environment and robust urban forestry program," Supervisor Edward Wehrheim said in a news release.

He commended Smithtown Environmental Director David Barnes and urban foresters Tom Colella and Bob Barget for "going above and beyond" to grow the town's programming to new heights.

"It’s easy to take for granted, especially in spring, summer and fall, just how fortunate we are to live in an emerald city, lush with healthy trees and native pollinators," Wehrheim said. "The work that DEW has done to ensure a booming tree inventory and maintenance program will undoubtedly offer beauty, health and countless environmental benefits for decades to come."

The Town of Smithtown was first declared Tree City USA in 1986 by the National Arbor Day Foundation. Since then, the town has taken great pride in managing a sustainable streetscape lined with trees.

"The Town of Smithtown has proudly maintained its reputation as Tree City USA for over 37 years, in addition to recent efforts to begin a street tree census, and to identify invasive species," the town stated.

The Department of Environment and Waterways Urban Forestry team is working to finalize the grant agreement with the U.S Forest Service. Upon completion, Urban Foresters will begin planting 2,000 trees over a four year period beginning with 350 this fall, according to the town.

DEW has planted 2,350 trees since 2019 and will total 2,500 by the end of spring. Since the street tree inventory project began in April 2020, 25,000 trees out of an estimated 35,000 street trees within the township have been cataloged.

Preliminary data from the I-Tree 10/13/22 Report shows that the Town of Smithtown has a greater than 30% tree canopy cover.

Residents can request street tree plantings in front of their residence by contacting the Department of Environment and Waterways Urban Forestry team via email at streettrees@smithtownny.gov or by phone at 631-360-7514.

Arbor Day is celebrated on the last Friday in April as a day to promote education and awareness on the importance of trees in the community. In 2024, Arbor Day will be observed on Friday, April 26. The Town of Smithtown recognizes Arbor Day each year, often accompanied by tree plantings and other sustainable actions. This year, the town stated it will plant a tree at the Senior Citizens Center on April 26 and set out to plant 150 new trees by the end of spring.