CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Cleveland is the first Tennessee city to reach what state Rep. Kevin Brooks, R-Cleveland, calls winning the tree trifecta.
The city now holds all three of the Arbor Day Foundation’s honors: Tree City USA, Tree Line City USA and Tree Campus USA. The city has won the Tree City annual award for nearly two decades, and Cleveland Utilities has been designated a Tree Line City annually since 2001. Cleveland State Community College won the Tree Campus designation for the first time this year.
The Cleveland Shade Tree Advisory Board met over lunch Tuesday to celebrate.
“We have achieved the triple crown. It is the tree trifecta,” Brooks said. “When I first heard the news, they were having a little race up in Kentucky.”
Bart Borden, operations manager for Cleveland Utilities, said, “Many times the utility is looked upon as an enemy of trees, since power lines and trees do not mix well and the necessity (is) to keep the power on.”
Pat Ensley, retired operations manager, led the effort to change that, Borden said. Ensley took the initiative to promote tree planting, educate contracted tree trimmers on proper methods and advise property owners on proper trees to plant near power lines.
Suzanne Bennett, Cleveland State horticulturist, said the Tree Campus designation grew out of the college’s Sustainability Committee.
“Sustainability is a big word, but it boils down to making smart choices that don’t take away from future generations,” Bennett said. “As a sustainability campus we just try to make good decisions for our campus and for our community.”
Jo Benjamin represented the Tree Board and City Councilman George Poe represented Mayor Tom Rowland during a presentation by Brooks.
Cleveland residents also were urged to take an online survey on the importance of trees in the city. The survey is at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/clevelandbeautification.