FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: City of Fitchburg
Anna.healy@fitchburgwi.gov
608-270-4289
Arbor Day Foundation and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Recognize City of Fitchburg as a Tree City of the World
City of Fitchburg joins an international network of Cities dedicated to fostering the best urban forestry practices.
Fitchburg, Wisconsin –The City of Fitchburg joins the international program, Tree Cities of the World, to highlight its dedication to growing and maintaining its city's urban forestry efforts.
To earn the Tree Cities of the World recognition, the City of Fitchburg has demonstrated its commitment to urban forestry by meeting five program standards: establish a position responsible for the care of trees, set rules to govern the management of urban forests and trees, maintain an updated tree inventory, allocate resources for tree management, and hold an annual Arbor Day celebration. The key to the City of Fitchburg’s success in receiving this recognition was the passage of a tree protection ordinance in June 2023 and the updating of the tree inventory in December 2023.
The City of Fitchburg recognizes the benefits of trees by planting over 400 trees a year and maintaining over 14,000 trees on public properties. These trees have many benefits including enhancing and improving property values, alleviating air and water pollution, conserving energy, providing a noise and visual buffer, providing wildlife habitat, and promoting the health and safety of all residents. Perhaps most of all, trees increase the quality of residents’ life in the City of Fitchburg every day.
Mayor Julia Arata-Fratta will celebrate this designation by planting a tree on Arbor Day, Friday April 26th on the City Hall Campus. The event will take place at 10:30 AM. Please feel free to attend.
“We all want to live in a city that is healthy, resilient, and beautiful – trees serve as a common language to make that possible. Being recognized in the Tree Cities of the World program means that the City of Fitchburg is committing to go above and beyond to define trees as critical green infrastructure for your citizens” said Dan Lambe, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation.
About the Arbor Day Foundation
Founded in 1972, the Arbor Day Foundation is the world’s largest membership nonprofit organization dedicated to planting trees. With a focus in communities and forests of greatest need, the Foundation — alongside its more than 1 million members, supporters and valued partners — has helped to plant nearly 500 million trees in more than 50 countries. Guided by its mission to inspire people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees, the Arbor Day Foundation is committed to unlocking the power of trees to help solve critical issues facing people and the planet. Learn more about the impact of the Arbor Day Foundation at arborday.org. More information on the Tree City of the World program can be found at https://treecitiesoftheworld.org/.
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