Menomonie to celebrate Arbor Day April 28th
MENOMONIE – The City of Menomonie Urban Forestry Board will be hosting an Arbor Day Celebration on Friday, April 28th at 11:00 a.m. at the Dunn County Historical Society (1820 John Russell Rd, Menomonie). The event is free and open to the public. The event will be held outdoors, however in the case of inclement weather, will be held indoors at the Dunn County Historical Society.
The 2023 Arbor Day Celebration will honor John Anshus, a charter member of the Urban Forestry Board, who passed away last year. A tree will be planted and dedicated in John’s honor. The event will also include speakers on the importance of trees and birds and a presentation of the 2023 Friend of Menomonie’s Urban Forest award.
“The City of Menomonie would like to thank and honor John Anshus for his many years of dedicated public service as a charter member of the Urban Forestry Board,” said Menomonie Mayor Randy Knaack. “His dedication to the Urban Forestry Board has made our city a more beautiful place to live.”
The City of Menomonie was recently named a 2022 Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation. This marks the 33rd consecutive year the City has been honored for their commitment to effective urban forest management. Menomonie achieved Tree City USA recognition by meeting the program’s four requirements: maintaining a tree board or department, having a tree care ordinance, dedicating an annual community forestry budget of at least $2 per capita and hosting an Arbor Day observance and proclamation.
The City of Menomonie was also recently named a 2022 Bird City by the Bird City Wisconsin organization. Menomonie achieved Bird City recognition by maintaining programs in six categories: habitat creation, protection and monitoring, community forest management, limiting or removing threats to birds, public education, energy and sustainability, and World Migratory Bird Day.
The first American Arbor Day was held in 1872 in Nebraska. Arbor Day is celebrated each year on the last Friday in April and the customary observance is to plant a tree.
