Made In The Shade: Pinellas Park Recognized As 2021 Tree City USA

PINELLAS PARK, FL — Countering the impacts of Florida's often-blazing sun, Pinellas Park is being recognized for keeping cool naturally.

The city has once again been named a Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation to honor its commitment to effective urban forest management.

Pinellas Park achieved 2021 Tree City USA recognition by meeting the program's four requirements: forming a tree board or department, creating a tree-care ordinance, having an annual community forestry budget of at least $2 per capita and hosting an Arbor Day observance and proclamation.

The Tree City USA program is sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation, in partnership with the U.S.Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters.

Pinellas Park is among 3,676 cities recognized this year.

"Tree City USA communities benefit from the positive effects that an urban tree canopy has year after year," said Dan Lambe, president of the Arbor Day Foundation. "The trees being planted and cared for by Pinellas Park ensure that generations to come will enjoy a better quality of life. Additionally, participation in this program helps cultivate a sense of stewardship and pride for the trees the community plants and cares for."

Planting trees in an urban space comes with a myriad of benefits beyond recognition by the Arbor Day Foundation, Lambe said.

Urban tree plantings help reduce energy consumption by up to 25 percent, which will reduce general energy costs and help with the overall cooling of the city. In addition, properly placed trees increase property values from 7 to 20 percent.

Trees also positively affect the local ecosystem by helping to clean water and create animal habitats.

In 2022, the Arbor Day Foundation will celebrate its 50th anniversary of inspiring people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees. Also in 2022,the national holiday of Arbor Day will celebrate 150 years of planting trees.

The Arbor Foundation will use this celebration to look forward and think about how communities can continue to plant trees for several more generations.

In Florida, Arbor day is celebrated on the third Friday in January.