– Hutchison Elementary School Children Plant Trees –

Hutchison Elementary School students help Fairfax County Urban Forester Hugh Whitehead mulch a newly-planted birch tree on school grounds in Herndon.

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. – Hutchison Elementary School in Herndon served as the backdrop for an Arbor Day celebration in Fairfax County on April 24, which included a proclamation and students helping to plant trees on school grounds.

Dranesville District Supervisor James “Jimmy” Bierman proclaimed Arbor Day in Fairfax County and received the county’s 43rd consecutive Tree City USA designation from Jacob Zielinski of the Virginia Department of Forestry.

The program also included comments from Hutchison Elementary School Principal Sarah Aiello, Herndon Town Major Keven J. LeBlanc, Fairfax County Public Schools Executive Principal for Region 1 Lindsay Trout, and Fairfax County Tree Commission Chair Barbara Ryan.

Fairfax County Dranesville District Supervisor James Bierman, Hutchison Elementary School Principal Sarah Aiello, Virginia Department of Forestry’s Jacob Zielinski, and Fairfax County Director of Urban and Community Forestry Brian Keightley celebrate the county’s 43rd consecutive Tree City USA designation.

Fairfax County Urban Forester Hugh Whitehead with Hutchison Elementary School students next to the birch tree they helped plant on school grounds. 

The celebration involved elementary students from grades K-6, who helped county staff plant six river birch (Betula nigra) trees on school grounds during the school day. The trees are native to Virginia and in the future, will provide much-needed shade on the property and help clean the air by storing carbon.

“Arbor Day reminds us that every tree we plant is an investment in our future,” said Brian Keightley, director, Fairfax County Urban and Community Forestry Division (UCFD). “In Fairfax County, we celebrate Arbor Day because our urban forest is one of our strongest tools for building climate resiliency — cooling neighborhoods, managing stormwater, expanding wildlife habitat, and providing carbon storage.”

UCFD, a division of the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES), is focusing efforts on planting more trees across vulnerable communities and urban heat islands to meet Fairfax County’s goal of achieving 60-percent canopy coverage by 2030, with at least 40 percent in every census tract. These goals are outlined in the county’s Community-Wide Energy and Climate Action Plan (CECAP).

Other Fairfax County UCFD efforts include:

• Expanding low- or no-cost tree options directly to county residents and other private property owners.
• Monitoring and managing invasive pests, including spotted lanternfly and the emerging threat of beech leaf disease. This includes working with national and regional academic researchers to one day find a landscape-level treatment for beech leaf disease.
• Updating County guidelines to favor resilient, native species.
• Updating and distributing the popular Tree Basics Booklet to the community.

“This commitment also reflects the One Fairfax policy,” Keightley added. “We’re making sure the benefits of more trees reach every community, especially those that need them most. Whether you’re planting in your own yard or joining a neighborhood effort, you’re helping create a cooler, healthier, and stronger Fairfax County for all of us.”

 

Tips for Planting Trees in Your Yard

Choose native species.

• Plant before the end of May or plan to plant after the middle of September.
• Right plant, right place! Read up on the full-grown size of what you are planting to avoid future conflicts with your house, driveway, or utilities.
• Call before you dig a hole to plant a tree! (call miss utility for locations of underground utility lines)
• Water deeply once a week if the drought continues.

Learn more about Fairfax County’s Urban and Community Forestry Division.

About Tree City USA

A program of the National Arbor Day Foundation, Tree City USA is a designation marking a community’s investment in its trees. An application is required each year to show compliance with four standards, including having a tree commission or department to make public tree care decisions, an ordinance for the care of public trees, a minimum of $2 per capita in spending going to the care of trees, and an Arbor Day Observance and Proclamation each year.