FARMINGTON — Selectmen on May 14 proclaimed May 19-25 as Arbor Week.
This is part of Tree City USA, Bill Haslam, chair of the Conservation Commission said. “One of their pillars is you proclaim Arbor Week. you will be celebrating it,” he stated. “We will be holding an event Saturday, May 25, at Walton’s Mill Park. There will be some tree identification, invasive species plant identification.”
A tree will be planted somewhere in the park, it is symbolic of Arbor Week, he added.
The proclamation is part of the Tree City USA program hosted by the National Arbor Day Foundation. The program is also recognized by the Maine Forest Service.
Tree City USA is a program of the National Arbor Day Foundation. Started in 1976, Tree City USA is one of the foundation’s oldest programs.
“The Tree City USA program provides communities with a four-step framework to maintain and grow their tree cover,” according to the foundation’s website. “It also gives them an avenue to celebrate their work, showing residents, visitors, and the entire country that they’re committed to the mission of environmental change.”
Farmington is one of three Maine towns having the longest run of Tree City USA designation, Haslam said last year. “The other two towns have arborists, park staff, forestry staff to maintain their trees,” he noted. “We do it with town staff, volunteers, CMP’s work. We are a unique situation. A lot of volunteer work, a lot of different groups working together.”
On Tuesday, May 21, Sally Speich, a commission member said the Arbor Day event will be from 1 to 3 p.m. with the tree planting to take place about 1 p.m. There will be a petting zoo featuring goats, she noted.
“We hope to have some kids there to plant the tree,” she added.
Walton’s Mill Park is located on Route 43 in West Farmington. The park is the culmination of a more than $3 million project that took seven years to complete. It included the removal of the dam at Walton’s Mill Park, renovations at the park and two stream crossing replacements along Clover Mill Road. The dam was built in 1820 and came under town ownership in 1977. The park was created in 1980 through the efforts of resident Mary Wright.
The park was dedicated last September.
Chair Joshua Bell said he was happy the town has the Tree City USA program. “Keep up the good work,” he added.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.