news:

After listening to the smooth sounds of the Parkersburg South High School Jazz Band, Mr. Sharp, Chair of the Parkersburg Tree Commission, announced the winners of the 2010 Big Tree Contest. The biggest tree had a recorded Circumference Breast Height (CBH) of 147 inches. The Ginkgo Tree is located at 1124 Lynn Street.

The ceremony concluded with members of the Parkersburg Tree and Bicentennial Commissions dedicating a Sugar Maple Tree in front of the City Building. It was in 1820 that the City changed its name from Newport to Parkersburg. Affixed to a block of sandstone in front of tree will be a plaque commemorating this event. The plaque should be installed sometime in June. The block of sandstone is historically significant, because it was once part of the Old City Building located at 5th and Market Street.

More than forty people attended the ceremony in Bicentennial Park.

Parkersburg has met the four standards to become a Tree City USA community. Tree City USA communities must have a tree board or department, a tree-care ordinance, a comprehensive community forestry program, and an Arbor Day observance and proclamation.

"We commend Parkersburg's elected officials, volunteers and its citizens for providing vital care for its urban forest," said John Rosenow, chief executive and founder of the Arbor Day Foundation. "Trees provide numerous environmental, economical and health benefits to millions of people each day, and we applaud communities that make planting and caring for trees a top priority."

Communities that earn Tree City USA recognition not only have taken the time to meet the four standards, they know that trees:

• Promote healthier communities by filtering the air we breathe by removing dust and other particles.
• Moderate climate, conserve water and provide vital habitat for wildlife.
• Reduce the heat island effect in urban areas caused by pavement and buildings.
• Increase property values and reduce energy use and add beauty to our homes and neighborhoods.

More information about Tree City USA can be found at arborday.org/TreeCityUSA.

About the Arbor Day Foundation:

The Arbor Day Foundation is a nonprofit, environmental and education organization of nearly one million members, with a mission to inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. More information on the Foundation and its programs can be found at arborday.org.

"I think the Fourth Grade Foresters project is a great way to inform young people about the importance of trees and the City's 200th birthday, as well as get them involved by planting a tree," said Rickie Yeager, Planning Administrator for the City of Parkersburg. "When I was a kid, I received a tree at school and today it is taller than my grandma's house." Mr. Yeager has been working with the Tree and Bicentennial Commission on this project.

"This project is made possible because community organizations, like the Tree and Bicentennial Commissions, covered the cost of each of the individually packaged evergreen trees, so that there is no cost to the students, the teachers or the school," Debra Ersch, Cofounder of the Fourth Grade Foresters Project stated. "It's a wonderful way to show support for the community, education and the environment."

Each fourth grader will receive an individually packaged 12"-18" evergreen tree seedling, sealed in a polybag, by workers with disabilities. Each package will include information about The City's Arbor Day, planting and care instructions, and the name of its sponsor. Seedlings will be distributed to area elementary schools on April 30th at the end of the school day.

What makes this so special? The trees are packaged in workshops that employ adults with disabilities through the Free Trees and Plants project. Started in February 2004, the www.freetreesandplants.com project obtains from growers and nurseries some of the millions of unsold plants that are destroyed each year, hires workers with disabilities to package them and then sends the plants to anyone who orders them at www.freetreesandplants.com. Consumers simply pay for processing and shipping costs.