Trees, please: Trussville becomes Tree City, designates Arbor Week
The magnolias are majestic. The swaying pines are pretty. The oaks are anything but ordinary.
Development dominates the talk in Trussville these days, but now the discussion is branching out — to trees. The Trussville City Council in October approved a proclamation declaring the last full week of February as Arbor Week in the city. The proclamation encourages each citizen to participate in tree planting activities during the week.
“I’m really happy about it because it is something many of us campaigned on,” City Councilman Zack Steele said. “We’re doing everything we can to protect our trees and plant more in our public spaces. Hopefully this will encourage developers of private property to do the same.”
The proclamation states that Alabama’s economic, environmental and aesthetic welfare is largely dependent on its trees and forestlands. Trees provide jobs, products, wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities, the proclamation states.
The importance of trees often gets overlooked. They provide oxygen, help purify the air, play a key role in the water cycle, help neutralize wastewater and stabilize the soil. They can also attract tourism, increase property values and enhance shopping patterns.
Katie Wiswall, the urban and community forestry partnership coordinator with the Alabama Forestry Commission, visited Trussville in September to talk to the city council about becoming a Tree City.
“What has always struck me about Trussville is the vibe it projects as a community interested in the green side of things,” Wiswall said. “This was true even before that trend really caught on area-wide. I can remember having friends in Trussville in the late ’80s who were concerned about controlling kudzu on city lands without the use of herbicides and who realized the importance of being located in the headwaters of the Cahaba River, as well as the responsibility that accompanied that distinction.”
Of course, Wiswall noted, Trussville has seen tremendous development since the 1980s.
“Balancing growth and green space is always a challenge, but I suspect most residents of Trussville would say their city hasn’t done a bad job of balancing those demands and is constantly looking to improve,” she said. “Really, what more can any of us ask of our elected officials?”
To earn the Tree City designation, five things had to happen. First, the city needed to form a tree board or committee, which Trussville already had. Second, a tree ordinance needed to be in place, something the city also had already enacted. Third, the city was required to have a budget of $2 per capita for tree planting, pruning, maintenance, trimming and removal. Fourth, the proclamation had to be approved. Finally, an online application for designation as a “Tree City” had to be completed. As a newly designated Tree City, the city will receive two road signs, a 4-foot-by-6-foot Tree City USA flag and a wall plaque from the Arbor Day Foundation.
“Many places are pretty and have beautiful trees, but not as many take the time to proclaim their recognition of the importance of those trees,” Wiswall said. “Being recognized as a Tree City is a way to do that.”
Trussville now gains access to expertise and information about grants and other programs that can help the city advance the level of its tree care.
“I’m confident Trussville has enough residents who truly care about both the oldest public trees and the yet-to-be-planted ones that the city can only become greener and more beautiful as time goes on,” Wiswall said.
Trussville resident and photographer Ron Burkett recently sent his drone up over the heart of the city, hoping to capture some aerial photos of the landscape below. He joked that the only problem he encountered was the number of trees blocking the view of the streetscape below.
City Councilman Jef Freeman said: “It certainly is an important part of our city.”