Tree City USA Designation and Arbor Day

In 1993, the Oxford Village Tree Board officially joined "Tree City USA" having Arbor Day Celebrations with the support of the National Arbor Day Foundation (in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters). Tree City USA requires towns to: plant trees; encourage individuals to plant and care for trees to enrich the environment; and expand the awareness of the need for tree planting and care by increasing publicity about Arbor Day and the number of people who celebrate it. (For more info. visit: http://www.arborday.org/).

Arbor Day was founded by J. Sterling Morton in Nebraska in 1872, National Arbor Day is celebrated each year on the last Friday in April. Morton's simple idea was to set aside a special day for tree planting, which has been observed for over 130 years. Today, Arbor Day is celebrated all over the U.S. and in many other countries too.

On Arbor Day in Oxford, the last Saturday in April, the Village flies the official Tree City USA flag; St. Joseph's church has a chicken barbecue; and the Tree Board continues its tradition of giving away small trees in LaFayette Park, encouraging tree care and environmental stewardship. The local papers, the Oxford Review-Times and The Evening Sun, always announce the event, and people from all around come to celebrate with a tree. In recent years, Sherburne Forester, Greg Owen has presented the Oxford Mayor, Terry Stark, with the Tree City USA plaque and flag. (With the exception of 2004, when the Village Tree Board treasurer, John Godfrey made the presentation and in 2005, it was DEC Forester, Robert Off.)

The Oxford Tree Board encouraged interested art students, from Oxford Academy's 5th grade, to enter the annual Arbor Day National poster contest in 2005. The Arbor Day Foundation provides a teaching guide which includes activities to use with fifth grade students that emphasizes the impact that trees have on the environment. These activities correlate with National Science, Social Studies, Geography, and Art Standards.
The Middle School Art Instructor, Tiia Aarismaa, encouraged her students and educated them from the activity guide, that trees not only produce food energy for people and wildlife, but how properly selected and planted trees conserve energy. The 2005 posters were on display in the LaFayette Park bandshell during the Oxford Arbor Day celebration.
Annual poster contest details are available on the Internet. Visit www.arborday.org/postercontest to see the national and state winners. It is hoped that an Oxford student will be a New York State or National winner of the contest in the future. Printed posters are also available free of charge at this website.

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