The City of Fond du lac will be celebrating its Arbor Day on Friday, April 26th at 1:00 pm at the Park Pavilion in Lakeside Park. A third grade class from Roberts School will be planting the Arbor Day tree on the west lakefront in Lakeside Park. Festival Foods will donate the Arbor Day tree and tree seedlings for the students. This will be a joint Arbor Day celebration for the City of Fond du Lac and UW Oshkosh, Fond du Lac Campus. The University will receive the award for its 5 th year of Tree Campus Higher Education status. UW Oshkosh is the only UW System School with all three of its campuses holding Tree Campus Higher Education status. The City will receive its 36th Tree City Award. Oliva Witthun, an Urban Forestry Coordinator of the Department of Natural Resources, will present the awards on behalf of the National Arbor Foundation to UW Oshkosh, Fond
Du Lac Campus and the City. Fond du Lac 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 a least $2 per capita and hosting an Arbor Day observance and proclamation. The Tree City USA program is sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation, in partnership with the US Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters. “Tree City USA communities see the positive effects of an urban forest firsthand,” said Dan Lambe, Chief Executive of the Arbor Day Foundation. “The Trees being planted and cared for by Fond du Lac are ensuring that generations to come will enjoy a better quality of life. Additionally, participation in this program brings residents together and civic involvement, whether it’s through volunteer engagement or public education.” If ever there was a time for trees, now is that time. Communities worldwide are facing issues with air quality, water resources, personal health and well-being, energy use and extreme heat and flooding. Fond du Lac is doing its part to address these challenges for residents both now and in the future.
