For the 41st consecutive year, the Arbor Day Foundation has named the City of Avondale Estates a Tree City USA. The city also received its fifteenth Tree City USA Growth Award for its commitment to effective urban forest management. There are more than 150 Tree Cities in Georgia and more than 3,500 in the country. Avondale Estates is one of the three oldest tree cities in the state.
The Tree City USA program, administered by the Arbor Day Foundation in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters, provides the framework for community forestry management for cities across America that meet specific requirements. The city achieved Tree City USA recognition by meeting the program’s four requirements: a tree board or department, a tree-care ordinance, an annual community forestry budget of at least $2 per capita and an Arbor Day observance and proclamation.
The Growth Award is granted to Tree City USA communities actively engaged in enhancing tree care and community involvement throughout the year. This year, the city qualified by investing in staff training, adding 219 sites to its tree inventory, and planting 80 trees. The Georgia Forestry Commission defines cities that receive this award as going "above and beyond the requirements for urban forestry programs."
The city and Avondale Estates Garden Club (AEGC) celebrated Georgia’s Arbor Day on February 21 by planting a swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor) near the North Woods rain gardens. City staff, residents and members of the AEGC attended the tree-planting event, which included a tree proclamation read by Commissioner and Mayor Pro Tem Lisa Shortell.
Winter is the perfect time to plant a tree in the yard – consider adding a tree from the city’s tree list to the city's tree canopy. Trees are assets to a community when properly planted and maintained. They help to improve the visual appeal of a neighborhood, increase property values, reduce home cooling costs, remove air pollutants and provide wildlife habitat, among many other benefits.