Charles Stadelman, chair of the National Resources Board, in Sebastian.

For a second year in a row, the City of Sebastian has received the “Growth Award” from Tree City USA presented by the Arbor Day Foundation.

“We got our second-year consecutive Growth Award, which is an award that’s been around for years. But it requires that a city put extra work, extra projects, extra budgeting towards the protection and enhancement of the tree canopy,” Kimberly Haigler, Environmental Planner for the City of Sebastian, said in a statement.

Haigler said they’ve been working on the project at Riverview Park where they are doing mulching around a group of trees and planting natives. The city also moved the sidewalks around this year to help protect some of the trees.

“We moved the pathway away from groupings of trees so that we can protect them better,” Haigler added.

Charles Stadelman, who serves on the Natural Resources Board, says the award is significant for Sebastian.

“It’s a projection of the people who live here are pushing to be not only conservative, but this is the way we want to live. We like our trees. We like our environment,” Stadelman said.

Stadelman thanked the city staff for pursuing the project as much as they have and said that it’s part of being a stakeholder in Sebastian for everybody that lives here.

“These are some of the good things that are happening to you right now. The second year of consecutive growth,” Stadelman added.

The Tree City USA Growth Award recognizes major milestones and annual activities in five categories that build sustainable community forestry programs over the long term.

The categories are:

Building the Team
Measuring Trees & Forests
Planning the Work
Performing the Work
The Community Framework

The City of Sebastian has excelled in all of these categories. You can read more about these projects and others by visiting the Community Development page.

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