2019 Awards – New York State Urban Forestry Council

Along with showing their support and helping to accept Syracuse’s Tree City USA Award, a team from Onondaga Earth Corps (OEC) shared recent OEC achievements with the audience. From left to right: Syracuse City Arborist Stephen Harris, OEC Crew Leader Shadrach McKinney, Crew Leader Taveon Stenson, Program Coordinator Meqdad Ali (in front), Office Manager Yvonne Chu, OEC Founder Eli MacDonald, and Crew Leader Maurice Harris. Syracuse has been a Tree City USA for more than 29 years. Photos Courtesy NYSDEC

On March 21 in Albany, NYSDEC and community leaders celebrated the commitment of NYS Tree Cities, Tree Line Utilities, and Tree Campuses to our collective urban and community forest. Six New York communities became Tree Cities USA for the first time in 2018: Canton, Lakewood, Middletown, Niskayuna, Orangetown, and Sackets Harbor. To learn more about becoming a Tree City USA, Tree Line USA, or Tree Campus USA, see the Arbor Day Foundation website. The ceremony also honored the winner of the 2019 Arbor Day poster contest.