Harford County Marks Arbor Day with Planting of More than 500 Trees

From Harford County Government:

(Bel Air, MD) – Harford County celebrated Arbor Day on Friday, April 18, 2014 with an event held at the Chapel Road Park located at 2021 Chapel Road in Havre de Grace. This is the 11th year Harford County has earned the Tree City USA award from the National Arbor Day Foundation. The Tree City USA designation recognizes the work of elected officials, staff and citizens who plant and care for the community forest. More than 200 people attended the event.

“We are excited to be honored once again by the National Arbor Day Foundation with the ‘Tree City USA’ award. It’s a job well done for the Department of Planning and Zoning, the Harford County Forestry Board and all of our partners who helped make this possible,” said Harford County Executive David R. Craig.

Arbor Day festivities officially began with a proclamation presented by Director of Administration Mary Chance to Jen Wilson of the Department of Planning and Zoning.

As part of the day’s activities, volunteers planted 400 seedlings and 130 larger landscape trees of a variety of species. The event also included displays, exhibits and refreshments.

The Harford County Arbor Day Celebration and Conservation Project was sponsored by Harford County Government and the Harford County Forestry Board. The plantings were made in accordance with the Harford County Forest Conservation law, which was enacted on July 18, 1991 to ensure that tree and forest resources continue to benefit the community.

“I want to thank everyone for their hard work. This event was a success because of the collaboration between several departments including: Planning and Zoning, Parks & Recreation, Sustainability Office and Maryland Department of Natural Resources Forest Service. We also had support from the Department of Highways and community partners with Tim Smith and Havre de Grace Recreation Committee,” said Jen Wilson with the Department of Planning and Zoning.

The Arbor Day Foundation began in 1972 on the 100th anniversary of the first Arbor Day. The foundation recognizes more than 3,400 communities through the Tree City USA program, which honors cities committed to planting trees.