Lincoln Forestry Department celebrates 24th year as a “Tree City USA”

[May 03, 2025]  On Friday morning, the city of Lincoln Forestry Department hosted its annual tree planting ceremony as a part of the city’s designation as a Tree City USA.

The Forestry department is managed by Lincoln Street and Alley Superintendent Walt Landers. As the head of forestry Landers is tasked with the responsibility of keeping a tree inventory in the city, checking the health and wellbeing of the trees, making decisions on when and how to prune or trim trees, and making decisions about when a tree is unhealthy and needs to be removed from the landscape. After removing trees, it is then important to plant replacement trees to maintain the landscape and also as part of the Tree City program.

Each year, new trees are planted in a special ceremony and typically at a new location. This year new trees were planted at the city park on Eighth Street which is also the home of the city dog park and the LHM outdoor gym.

During the ceremony Landers read a script concerning the planting event, saying that the two new trees are Autumn Blaze Maples. He said that the trees will mature and provide a shady resting place along the city’s walking path.

Landers noted that the city of Lincoln has been a designated Tree City for the past 24 consecutive years.

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Landers read the following from the script, “The Lincoln Street Department staff oversees forestry operations in the city of Lincoln and participates in the Tree City USA Program because it provides direction, assistance, and recognition for our community. It also helps us manage a healthy, sustainable forestry program so we can all enjoy the benefits a healthy urban forest provides our community and a beautiful landscape for the residents we serve.”

Landers and the street department staff then proceeded to set the two trees in the ground and cover them with soil.

[Nila Smith with photos by Karen Castelein]


 

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