Kingfisher was again named among 23 communities qualifying for national status as Tree City USA in a virtual celebration hosted by Oklahoma Forestry Services and the Community Forestry Council.

The tree city designation is awarded annually by the national Arbor Day Foundation to cities meeting core standards of sound tree and forest management, maintaining a tree board, having a local tree ordinance, spending a minimum of two dollars per capita on community forestry and celebrating Arbor Day.

“We are excited to honor these groups who invest their time, effort and funding into achieving this national Arbor Day Foundation designations,” said State Forester and Oklahoma Forestry Services Director, Mark Goeller. “Their hard work benefits everyone in their communities.”

The annual celebration, held virtually this year on March 11, is always in advance of Oklahoma’s Arbor Week, historically the last full week of March.

This year’s event included video clips from some of the communities and campuses being honored, along with presentations from professionals on topics including the health benefits of trees and starting community wood utilization programs.

Other communities honored for achieving Tree City USA designation include: Ada, Bartlesville, Bixby, Broken Arrow, Claremore, Edmond, Enid, Guthrie, Jenks, McAlester, Midwest City, Morrison, Muskogee, Nichols Hills, Norman, Oklahoma City, Pauls Valley, Ponca City, Shawnee, Tinker AFB, Tulsa and Vance AFB.

See next Wednesday’s Times & Free Press for an article on the Kingfisher Tree Board’s activities to maintain the city’s greenbelts.

For more information about the health benefits of trees visit https://healthytreeshealthylives.org.