City of Largo Receives Prestigious Sterling Tree City Award
Mayor Patricia Gerard participating in the Mayor's Street Tree Planting Program. LARGO - The City of Largo officially joins the nation's elite as a Sterling Tree City. This award, presented by the Arbor Day Foundation, is given to communities that go beyond the four standards of Tree City USA, have accumulated points from a list of projects that demonstrate improvement and growth of local tree care, and have participated in the Tree City USA Growth Award Program for ten years. Largo earned this prestigious award by implementing a Street Tree Masterplan, completing a comprehensive street tree inventory, five successful years of the Mayor's Street Tree Beautification Program, and rolling out programs such as CommuniTrees, which provides free street trees to city neighborhoods. "We are very proud to be awarded as a Sterling Tree City," commented Largo Parks Superintendent, Greg Brown. "This is only one of many steps along the way to recapturing the urban forest that once existed in Largo. We are very fortunate that our Mayor and Commission recognize the important infrastructure-role trees play in our community. Our commitment to the scientific management of our City's trees will allow the citizens of Largo to continue receiving the many benefits of an ever improving urban forest." The Arbor Day Foundation awards approximately 20 Sterling Tree City Awards each year nationwide. Largo is the first city in Pinellas County to receive this award, and13th in the state of Florida. For more information about the Largo Parks Division, call (727) 586-7415 or visit www.LargoParks.com.
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