[Press Release] : City, Parks and Recreation awarded for community forestry

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Contact: Tammy Miller, Parks and Recreation - (573) 874-7465

City, Parks and Recreation awarded for community forestry

COLUMBIA, MO (May 16, 2008) - The city of Columbia and Columbia Parks
and Recreation have recently been awarded for its forestry program. 

The city has once again been named a Tree City USA community by the
Arbor Day Foundation to honor its commitment to community forestry. It
is the 11th year the city has received this designation. Columbia also
received a Tree City USA Growth Award for demonstrating progress in tree
planting and maintenance, street tree planting and hazard tree program.
The Growth Award recognizes environmental improvement and higher levels
of tree care in Tree City USA communities. 

Columbia met the four standards to become a Tree City USA community: a
tree board or department, a tree care ordinance, a comprehensive
community forestry program and an Arbor Day observance. 

Parks and Recreation also recently was awarded by Forest ReLeaf of
Missouri, a not-for-profit tree planting and education organization. The
organization presents the Exceptional ReLeaf awards for outstanding
planting projects from the previous year using trees donated by the
organization. 

Winners are selected by Forest ReLeaf in three categories: school,
municipal/ government and organization. The projects are evaluated on
the quality of the planting and maintenance, the degree of volunteer
involvement and the overall benefit to the community. 

Columbia won the municipal category after receiving 125 free trees from
Forest ReLeaf to help enhance the new Longview neighborhood park, which
was developed on land that formerly had been used for sewage treatment.
The trees were planted by volunteers and park staff to provide shade,
beauty and enhanced wildlife habitat along a newly-constructed perimeter
trail, and to absorb stormwater in nearby drainage areas.

For more information, call Parks and Recreation at 874-7460.

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