Arbor Day Celebration
Posted April 22, 2010
Mayor Jeff Rea announced today, that on Friday, April 23, 2010, the City of Mishawaka will join the School City of Mishawaka and the University of Notre Dame Center for Social Concerns to celebrate National Arbor Day at 10:30 a.m. at George Wilson Park in Mishawaka. George Wilson Park is located at 2605 Clover Road in Mishawaka. Fifth grade students from Beiger Elementary School will be presenting a short program and planting white pine trees in the Park. In addition, every fifth grade student in Mishawaka will receive a white pine tree seedling to plant at home, along with planting and care instructions.
The City of Mishawaka is honored to be celebrating its 20th year as a Tree City by the National Arbor Day Foundation. This honor is presented annually to cities and towns throughout the United States, who demonstrate a commitment to plant, nurture and celebrate trees.
The Mishawaka Utilities Electric Division has been named a Tree Line USA Utility for the 7th consecutive year in recognition of its leadership role in caring for trees while meeting service objectives. Tree Line USA is sponsored by the National Association of State Foresters. This award recognizes utilities that meet three requirements: A program of quality tree care, annual worker training in tree care practices, and a tree planting and education program. Trees help reduce peak energy demand by conserving energy. They also clean the air and water, increase property value, and make our homes more comfortable livable places. One of the greatest objectives of Tree Line USA is to replace the outdated practice of simply topping trees- with natural pruning. This results in healthier trees and reduced line clearing cost for utilities.
The University of Notre Dame’s Center for Social Concern is continuing their efforts on their “Carbon Offset Program”. Notre Dame also donated 20 of the 40 white pine trees that students will be planting. Each student will also get one of their own white pine seedlings to take home and plant.
Mayor Rea commented “The City of Mishawaka and Mishawaka Utilities are proud to be honored by the National Arbor Day Foundation for the 20th year and proud to participate in this worthwhile program. Trees are important to our community and we are always excited to partner with the school kids and green up Mishawaka!