Two Best Tree Cities Are Here

To not acknowledge the beauty of the bountiful trees surrounding and would be barking up the wrong tree.

So, in honor of this year's Arbor Day on April 27, Patch is proud to acknowledge the progress made by two local municipalities dedicated to terrific trees. Celebrate Arbor Day by stopping by in Eureka Saturday to pick up a free tree. Trees will be available from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., or until all the trees are distributed. (In case of rain or inclement weather, the backup date for this tree distribution is April 7.)

This is the eighth year for Eureka to be recognized in the national Tree City USA program. , as reported in Eureka-Wildwood Patch.

Eureka gives out 200 trees a year at the city's annual Easter Egg Hunt, so an estimate of the total number of trees provided—including this year’s event—would be roughly 1,600 trees, said Julie Wood, Eureka's director of economic development.

"We give away three types of trees that typically do well in our rocky soil: Flowering Dogwoods, River Birch and Redbud trees," said Wood. "The city purchases these trees every year, and puts in the time and effort to bag each tree separately and wrap them in wet newspaper."

Eureka also offers a tree dedication program, where citizens can pay $200 and have a tree planted in one of the parks. The tree is guaranteed for three years, and has a plaque in honor of the person for which it was planted. Wood said city staffers take care of watering and fertilizing the tree. 

"There is no ceremony, but the family is contacted once the tree is planted and they can organize their own gathering if they would like," she said.

"The dedicated trees are usually planted in November, but sometimes we do a spring planting."

For more information about Eureka's tree dedication program, visit the city's parks and recreation web page.

Likewise, Wildwoodians have long been committed to protecting the forests in the municipalities forests and the variety of trees in the more rural 3-acre residential lots.

Wildwood's director of parks and planning Joe Vujnich said the city's tree-related objectives are to preserve the trees that are here; encourage woodlands maintenance by homeowners and others; and promote the use of sustainable plants, when new and replacement plantings are to be installed within the city.

The majority of the city’s plantings, in any given year, are for replacing street trees, so about eight to 10 different species are recommended for this purpose.

Vujnich said 5,500 street trees are within the city’s rights-of-way. Beyond those trees, there are probably hundreds of thousands in Wildwood on private and public grounds.

Wildwood also has a memorial tree program for tree plantings in the city's parks; information is available at .

In sharing the love of trees, Wildwood donated approximately $1,500 to to assist in the replanting of trees in Joplin, MO, parks after the horrific devastation of the . The money was collected from residents of Wildwood through the sale of Wildwood gear, said Vujnich.

Wildwood staffers recently removed a number of dead and hazardous trees from its parks and trail corridors, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Conservation through a grant program (TRIM) administered by the conservation group.