BY REBECCA BENNETT — The Arbor Day Foundation has named the City of Hyattsville a 2015 Tree City USA. It is the 25th year the city has been given the honor.
“I am proud that the Arbor Day Foundation recognized what a beautiful canopy we have here in Hyattsville, as well as the work and care that our City staff and residents have dedicated to our trees for so many years,” Hyattsville Mayor Candace Hollingsworth said.
The program has four requirements, which includes having a tree board or department, a tree-care ordinance, an annual community forestry budget of at least $2 per capita, and an Arbor Day observance and proclamation, a press release said.
According to the city, properly maintained trees provide many benefits to a community, such as help improve the visual appeal of a neighborhood, increase property values, reduce home cooling costs, remove air pollutants and provide wildlife habitat.
