The National Arbor Day Foundation has named Gaithersburg, Maryland a Tree City USA for the twenty third consecutive year.  Sponsored by the Foundation, in cooperation with the National Association of State Foresters and the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, the Tree City Award recognizes Gaithersburg’s commitment to the environment and its aggressive approach to preserving and enhancing its urban forest.  The City met four national standards to qualify:  Having a tree board or department, having a tree care ordinance, maintaining a comprehensive community forestry program with annual expenditures of at least $2 per capita, and celebrating Arbor Day with an observance.

"By sustaining and increasing our City's urban tree canopy, we reap the benefits of increased filtration of air and water pollution, the trapping of carbon and a lowering of ambient temperatures,” said Gaithersburg Environmental Planner Dyan Backe.  “Among their numerous benefits, trees are instrumental in reducing the heat island effect."

During Green Week, April 14 - 21, Gaithersburg will celebrate Arbor Day at Brown Station Elementary School.  At an assembly on Thursday, April 19, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources will present Gaithersburg with its Tree City USA Award.  Mayor Sidney Katz and other elected officials will join students in a tree planting ceremony at the school.

For more information on this and other environmental programs in the City of Gaithersburg, please contact the Environmental Services Division at 301-258-6310 or visit the Division website www.gaithersburgmd.gov/environment.