Landscaping is a large part of what makes a city or town attractive. Shaded, tree-lined streets, flowering shrubs, and parks on street corners make cities more livable, providing a feeling of comfort and stability.

The National Arbor Day Foundation has provided a way for cities to maintain their trees while promoting residential pride, and visual allure.

Cities that become official ?EUR??,,????'??Tree Cities USA?EUR??,,????'?? through the NADF experience a number of free benefits. The program organizes the maintenance and legal responsibility of a city?EUR??,,????'???s trees, while encouraging connections with professionals in the field that provide means of education, such as films and literature, for the public.

The program also offers a sense of pride. Once the requirements have been met, signs declaring the city as a ?EUR??,,????'??Tree City USA?EUR??,,????'?? location greet visitors at the borders of towns. And, as the NADF reports, cities with the program in place tend to have higher property values. The good name of ?EUR??,,????'??Tree City USA?EUR??,,????'?? extends so far as to give participating cities a natural preference for allocations of grant money from tree and forestry programs.

The best part is, it?EUR??,,????'???s free.

However, cities must meet four standards set forth by the NADF and the National Association of State Foresters to acquire the ?EUR??,,????'??Tree City?EUR??,,????'?? title:

1. A candidate city must form a Tree Board or Department to handle the legal tasks and management of the trees. The board may include a professional forester or arborist, a whole forestry department, or a volunteer tree committee. Having a group of professionals who can keep track of tree care helps organization, while community volunteers complete the equation with field work.
2. A Tree Care Ordinance establishes the tree board and allocates the responsibilities of writing and implementing an annual community forestry work plan. It also supplies guidance in tree removal from public places.
3. A community forestry program with an annual budget of a minimum of $2 per capita sounds difficult, but the NADF reports that many cities already spend this amount by municipality to trees.
4. Finally, the city must establish an Arbor Day Observance and Proclomation. Everyone loves a celebration, and the Arbor day observance can last for a few hours, a day, or, like some birthdays, for a week. The observance usually includes a tree planting or some kind of ceremony.

Regardless of size, cities and towns can become a ?EUR??,,????'??Tree City,?EUR??,,????'?? sparking the education and beautification of their streets.

Tree city booklets are available at 402-474-5655, or information is available at treecity@arborday.org.

Memberships to the NADF come with quite a join-up deal: for $10, new members get 10 trees for planting. Choices range from 10 flowering trees, to 10 oak trees, to 10 Colorado spruces. For more information, visit their website at www.arborday.org.