Walterboro Receives Tree City USA Designation

 The Tree Protection Committee of the City of Walterboro set a goal to become a part of the Arbor Day Foundation’s nationwide efforts to celebrate urban forests. Earlier in 2021 the City of Walterboro was recognized as the latest member of the Tree City USA program after meeting the criteria set forth by the Arbor Day Foundation. Since 1976 the program has helped 3,400 communities nationwide to improve the care of city trees, and Walterboro is now the 43rd Tree City USA community in South Carolina.

Signage and banner for Tree City USA Walterboro

Ryan McLeod is the Director of the Parks and Recreation Department for the City of Walterboro. “When I started my job here three years ago, I also began to oversee the Tree Protection Committee,” said McLeod. “A top priority of mine was to qualify for the Tree City USA designation, and there was much support for this on the committee. Current events in the form of the tornado in April of 2020 that ripped through the Walterboro Wildlife Sanctuary, and the Covid-19 pandemic, kind of derailed the planning process for the application, but by the end of winter last year we refocused our efforts.”

            

“I already knew that Walterboro is fortunate to have an urban forest to offset water runoff and to provide natural cooling during the heat of summer,” said McLeod. “But meeting the four core standards of sound urban forestry management was still a challenge of the application process. We met the first three criteria since we had a Tree Protection Board, a Tree Care Ordinance, and a Community Reforestation Program that spends $2 per capita we met the first three criteria. The final detail was celebrating Arbor Day with a proclamation, though we can hold the Arbor Day observance whenever we like. The Rice Festival weekend might make a good choice.”

To read the entire feature article in the newspaper click on Press and Standard.

To view past blog entries about planting trees click on Gamekeepers Magazine

To view past blog entries about urban forestry click on Laurel Oaks