To celebrate Arbor Day, Ypsilanti will be partnering with Washtenaw County Conservation District by giving away 200 trees to residents.
Arbor Day, a national holiday, was started in 1872 when Nebraska pioneers first came to the territory and missed the trees they had left behind. To resolve this, residents planted one million trees on April 10. Now recognized by all 50 states, on the last Friday of April citizens across the country plant trees to celebrate. The Arbor Day Foundation was founded a century later to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the holiday. The nonprofit conservation group distributes over 10 million trees every year.
Residents of Ypsilanti have an option of planting Red Cedar, Shagbark Hickory, or Chinquapin Oak on the street. The trees will come at 2-3 feet, making it “not suitable” to be a street tree. Those interested may fill out the form on the City of Ypsilanti website.
The City also encourages residents to plant street trees providing a permit application, how-to-guide, and list of permissible street trees on its website. There is no fee for the permit.
Residents can also donate trees to a city park by contacting the Department of Public Services at 734-483-1421.
The Department of Public Services is responsible for maintaining and removing trees in public rights of way such as street trees, parks, and other public lands of the City.
