Oxford Village Deputy Mayor Dale Leach and DEC Senior Forester Greg Owens holding the Tree City USA flag last year. Come to the Arbor Day ceremony on April 30, from 9 to 10 a.m. for the celebration and tree giveaway. (Photo by Jeanie Petersen)

OXFORD – The Oxford Village Tree Board will be holding its 35th “Tree City USA” Arbor Day Celebration on Saturday, April 30, starting at 9 a.m., at the LaFayette Park bandstand.

Plans include a proclamation, Tree City USA flag presentation, and a giveaway of seedling evergreen trees and a variety of seedling shrubs. The Oxford Village Tree Board encourages families and individuals to have a planting celebration of their own on Arbor Day.

The very first Arbor Day was founded 150 years ago by J. Morton Sterling. On the centennial of the first Arbor Day observance, in 1972, the National Arbor Day Foundation was created. Since then, they have become the largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees, and making an impact through conservation and education programs.

The National Arbor Day Foundation named Oxford a "Tree City USA,” for its 28th year in a row. One of the standards for that designation is that the community must have a tree board, which the village has. The Oxford Village Tree Board members are John Godfrey, Jeanie Petersen, Gray Stevens, Sandy Dain, Jean Curtis, Courtney Emerson, David Branham, and Leslie Renfrow.

Accepting the Tree City USA flag and award from the DEC Forester Greg Owens will be the honorable Village of Oxford Mayor Terry M. Stark.

Another standard that the Foundation requires is observing an Arbor Day. The Village Tree Board enjoys coordinating this ceremony with a tree giveaway. The seedling tree that was chosen for this year is Frasier Fir, Abies fraseri. It is a hardy evergreen “Christmas” tree.

The Board has also opted for some attractive flowering shrub seedlings: Rose of Sharon, Butterfly Bush, and Tuliptree as part of the giveaway. The seedling trees will be wrapped in moist newspaper. All you will need to do is pick a spot and dig a hole. Don’t be late though, rain or shine, quite often the seedlings are gone in minutes!

On this, the 150th Arbor Day anniversary, the Oxford Village Tree Board and National Arbor Day Foundation encourage you to “plant, nurture, and celebrate trees!”

Visit treeboard.oxfordny.com to learn more about the Village of Oxford Tree Board.

Contact the Tree Board through the Village Hall at 607-843-2512 or email vgoxford@stny.rr.com.