Cambridge earns Tree City of the World title for third straight year

For the third consecutive year, the City of Cambridge has earned the designation of a Tree City of the World.

The designation comes as the city plans to hand out 400 trees to residents April 27 as part of a bi-annual program to grow the tree canopy.

Residents can register for a free tree beginning Wednesday . by visiting cambridge.ca/freetree.

“Trees are an important part of our city’s infrastructure and provide a myriad of benefits including energy reduction, stormwater management, erosion control and contribute to our overall health,” said Mayor Jan Liggett in a release.

“As we struggle through and try to balance the impacts of development with the needs of our community, we are grateful for those in our community who continue to plant new trees on their property and take care of the health of those currently there.”

Cambridge earned the recognition by meeting five core standards that demonstrate dedication and determination toward planting and conserving trees for a greener future. The standards are: establish responsibility; set the rules; know what you have; allocated resources; and celebrate achievements.

Other initiatives by the city include the creation of the urban forest plan — hitting the city’s canopy target of 30 per cent by planting thousands of trees — current street tree and other inventories, performance indicators and monitoring reports, tree planting and giveaways, tree policies and bylaws, annual budgets and resources.

Tree Cities of the World is a program founded by the Arbor Day Foundation and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Through this recognition, Cambridge joins 200 cities from 22 countries who recognize the importance of trees in building cities, the release stated.

Residents can register for a free tree beginning Wednesday by visiting cambridge.ca/freetree