Kansas Forest Service

Benefits of Becoming a Tree City

Every community, regardless of size, benefits from becoming a Tree City USA. Tree City USA provides focused direction, technical assistance, public attention and national recognition to community forestry programs in over 100 Kansas communities across the state. These program benefits include:

• Framework for Action - Meeting the four standards for becoming a Tree City USA provides the initial direction for a community forestry program and helps get the community started towards an annual, systematic management of its tree resource.
• Education - Assistance and training opportunities provided by the Kansas Forest Service and a variety of other professional resources, aid in supporting the education process throughout the community's involvement in the program.
• Public Image - Becoming a Tree City USA helps to present the kind of image most individuals want to have for the place they live or work. The Tree City USA flag and signs along public highways tell visitors your community cares about the environment.
• Citizen Pride - Gaining and retaining Tree City USA status and recognition is an award to the tree board, city council, volunteers, tree workers and city managers who work on behalf of the care and management of a community's trees.
• Financial Assistance - Preference is often given to Tree City USA communities when allocations of grant money are available for trees or forestry programs because the community has already demonstrated the foresight of proactive management in becoming a Tree City USA community.
• Publicity - Presentation of the Tree City Award at the annual Tree City Recognition Day and the celebration of Arbor Day offer excellent publicity opportunities.

15 Reasons to Become a Tree City

Becoming a Tree City:

1. Encourages better care of community forests.
2. Touches the lives of people within the community who benefit daily from cleaner air, shadier streets, and aesthetic beauty that healthy, well-managed urban forests provide.
3. Recognizes and rewards communities for annual advancements in urban forestry practices.
4. Increases public awareness of the many social, economical and environmental benefits urban forestry practices.
5. Provides education to improve current urban forestry practices.
6. Builds cooperation between public and private sectors to effectively manage urban forests.
7. Encourages, supports, and strengthens effective urban forestry programs in diverse communities nationwide.
8. Can make a strong contribution to a community’s pride.
9. Serves as a blueprint for planting and maintaining a community’s trees.
10. Puts people in touch with other communities and resources that can help them improve their program.
11. Brings solid benefits to a community such as helping to gain financial support for tree projects and contributing to safer and healthier urban forests.
12. Helps present the kind of image that most citizens want to have for the place they live or conduct business.
13. Tells visitors, through signage, that here is a community that cares about its environment.
14. Sometimes gives preference over other communities when allocations of grant money are made for trees or forestry programs.
15. Provides a way to reach large numbers of people with information about tree care.

"15 Reasons to Become a Tree City" by the Arbor Day Foundation