Paddock Lake a Tree City for 10 years

Paddock Lake has been a Tree City USA for 10 years and has received the plaque to prove it.

Trustee Karen Harris showed off the award at the village’s annual Arbor Day ceremony today at McAlonan Park.

Then the real business of the day took place, the planting of a new maple tree in the park. The prep was done by village employee Bob Schultz, who donated his time, and the planting by Cub Scout Pack 328. The tree was donated by Ludwig Nursery of Brighton.

Here’s some video of the preliminaries and the planting:

 
Afterwards, there were cookies, donated by Southport Bank, and juice.

Village Trustee Chris Bucko (left) pours juice while Cub Scouts help themselves to a celebratory cookie or two.

The Tree City USA® program, sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters, provides direction, technical assistance, public attention, and national recognition for urban and community forestry programs. Only Paddock Lake and Kenosha have earned the designation in southeast Wisconsin, Harris said.

The benefits of being a Tree City cited by the Arbor Day Foundation include creating a framework for action, education, a positive public image, and citizen pride.

Arbor Day was founded 135 years ago by J. Sterling Morton, with the simple idea of setting aside a special day for tree planting.