Commitment to trees earns Burlington high praise from United Nations

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Published April 24, 2023 at 2:55 pm

Burlington has been recognized by a United Nations agency for its dedication to trees.

A Tree City of the World designation means the city has met all of the criteria set out by the Arbour Day Foundation and the Food and Agriculture Foundation of the United Nations

To earn Tree Cities of the World recognition, a city must demonstrate its commitment by meeting five program standards: establish responsibility for the care of trees, set rules to govern the management of forests and trees, maintain an updated inventory or assessment of local tree resources, allocate resources for a tree management plan, and hold an annual celebration of trees to educate residents.

“Trees are important to people, no matter what country they are from or what language they speak. We all want to live in a city that is healthy, resilient, and beautiful – trees serve as a common language to make that possible,” said Dan Lambe, Chief Executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “Being recognized in the Tree Cities of the World program means that your city is committing to go above and beyond to define trees as critical green infrastructure for your citizens.”

The Arbor Day Foundation is the world’s largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees and Tree Cities of the World aims to create more green spaces in urban areas by recognizing the cities that do it well.

A spokesperson for the City said the recognition is a great honour and pointed out that work is ongoing as the City nears completion of its urban forest master plan and woodlot strategy.

“The Forestry team is working diligently on a daily basis to protect our trees from unnecessary removal, pests and diseases as well as striving to plant more trees,” commented Enrico Scalera, Burlington’s Director of Roads, Parks and Forestry.

 

 

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