By Becky Vargo/Grand Haven Tribune (Printed with written permission from the Grand Haven Tribune)
July 31, 2020
The signs are up in Ferrysburg designating the municipality as a Tree City USA. Ferrysburg Mayor Rebecca Hopp said that the award was announced in April, but the presentation and the 2020 celebration were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The city held it’s first-ever Arbor Day celebration in April 2019, Hopp said.
A tree board was developed through the city’s recreation commission, which was able to secure a The Tree City USA program has been an arm of the Arbor Day Foundation since 1976.
It provides the framework necessary for communities to manage and expand their public trees grant for 40 trees through the ReLeaf Michigan program. Volunteers helped plant the trees on City Hall property during a workshop run by ReLeaf staff. ReLeaf also completed a tree canopy survey for the city.
The Tree City USA program has been an arm of the Arbor Day Foundation since 1976. It provides the framework necessary for communities to manage and expand their public trees.
More than 3,400 communities across the country have made the commitment to become a Tree City USA, according to the foundation. Those communities have achieved Tree City USA status by meeting four core standards of sound urban forestry management: maintaining a tree board or department, having a community tree ordinance, spending at least $2 per capita on urban forestry and celebrating Arbor Day.
