Ash Grove again earns Tree City U.S.A. designation with Arbor Day plantings

The city of Ash Grove celebrated Arbor Day at the Ash Grove City Park the afternoon of Wednesday, June 3.
This is the 14th year the city has earned the title of “Tree City USA”. The designation is directly due to the hard work and dedication of the Ash Grove Tree Board and the Ash Grove Park Board with the direction from Cindy Garner, Community Forester with the Missouri Department of Conservation.
In order to qualify as a “Tree City USA” the city must have a tree board, the community must have established an ordinance for tree care, there must be a community forestry program with an annual budget of at least $2 per capita, and the community must have an Arbor Day observance and proclamation.
“More than 100 towns and cities in Missouri have earned a Tree City USA designation and installed signs to show this achievement. Receiving a Tree City USA certification is impressive, and people who live in these communities enjoy the tangible benefits of having a greener, healthier community” taken from the Missouri Department of Conservation website.
The celebration started with Mayor Pro-tem Troy Watts reading the Arbor Day Proclamation, and Cindy Garner, Community Forester the Missouri Department of Conservation educating the more than 40 attendees which included 20 children on the history of Arbor Day, followed by the Ash Grove Public Works department planting seven red maple trees in the Ash Grove City Park.