Today, Friday, May 2, 2025, is Arbor Day in the State of North Dakota. Rutland is one of about 50 communities in North Dakota registered as a Tree City USA. Five of these communities also received a Growth Award in 2024, which recognizes major milestones and annual activities that build sustainable community forestry programs over the long term. Rutland is one of those Tree City communities that received a Growth Award.
To be a Tree City USA, Rutland had to meet four standards including having a tree board, a community tree ordinance, spending at least $2 per capita on urban forestry, and celebrating Arbor Day. These efforts impact the health, safety, and economy of our community, and enhance the quality of life and make our town a more beautiful place to live, work and play.
There are benefits to being a Tree City:
- Recognizing and rewarding communities for urban forestry management
- Providing education on relevant tree care and management practices
- Greater community pride by showing the community and its decision-makers care about the environment
- Increased public awareness of urban forestry practices
- Some North Dakota Forest Service grants provide extra points in their scoring for Tree City USA communities
- Community Family Forest grant awards increase by $500 for Tree City USA communities
The City of Rutland has been a recognized Tree City USA since 2018 and has achieved the Growth Award for several of those years. Projects have included the removal of nearly 25 trees and planting new trees in those and other locations. The City also maintains, trims and prunes trees as needed to help the City trees thrive.
Celebrate the day by planting a tree in your yard. For every street tree, there are said to be as many as 10 trees on private property. This makes an enormous contribution to the community’s air and water quality – and more yard trees would mean an even healthier environment. In many case, trees can also replace grass and save on water bills and time spent on lawn maintenance. Trees can also help reduce exposure to ultraviolet rays in sunlight.
Cleaner air, wildlife habitat, cooler temperatures, better moods and a happier planet – when it comes to sharing all their benefits, trees don’t hold back. Discover everything trees can do and the value they hold for our planet by checking the tree resources available through the Arbor Day Foundation at https://www.arborday.org/tree-resources
If you do plant a tree, send a photo to the City at rutlandnd@drtel.net to share it on our website!
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