The city of Richmond Hill, recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation and Tree City USA as a tree city for the third year in a row, recently celebrated Arbor Day 2016 with a tree planting in Richmond Heights Community Park.

In addition to Mayor Harold Fowler, who read a proclamation in observance of Arbor Day, attendees included City Manager Chris Lovell, Assistant City Manager Scott Allison, Park and Tree Department Assistant Director William Bates.

“As a community, we value all the benefits trees bring to us,” Fowler said. “Trees add beauty to our homes and neighborhoods, increasing their value by 15 percent, conserve energy, and clean the air and rivers.”

At the celebration, city officials planted a bald cypress, the first of several to be planted in the park to replace trees that had to be removed.

The Tree City USA is a national program promoting forestry management for cities and towns. Communities achieve Tree City USA status by meeting four standards of urban forestry management: maintaining a tree board or department, having a tree ordinance, spending at least $2 per year on urban forestry and celebrating Arbor Day.