By Journal Staff

MARQUETTE — The city of Negaunee announced Monday it will hold its first Arbor Day Celebration as part of the Tree City USA program.

The celebration will take place at 7 p.m. June 14 at the Jim Thomas Pavilion.

In 2019 the city of Negaunee passed an ordinance to make Negaunee an official part of the Tree City USA program. The program is part of the National Arbor Day Foundation and has been going since 1976.

“It has taken a little time to get this program off the ground, but we believe that we will have all the boxes checked this year,” said City Manager Nate Heffron.

In order for a city to qualify for the program, it must meet four different criteria. The city must maintain a tree board or department, it must have a community tree ordinance, it must spend at least $2 per capita on forestry within the city and it must celebrate Arbor Day.

The Negaunee celebration will feature a presentation from the mayor, who will read a proclamation and plant a tree in honor of a city resident.

That resident will be awarded the Community Growth Award.

In order to be eligible for the Community Growth Award, a citizen must be a former or current resident of Negaunee, must not have a criminal record and must never have received the award before. The criteria for choosing the winner states that they must have been involved in service to the community and must demonstrate what that service was. The recipient can be living or deceased.

This year’s Community Growth Award winner has already been chosen by the Tree Board. The recipient of the award will be kept secret until the day of the event and the winner may not even know that they have been chosen.

“We hope that many from the community will join us during the Negaunee Arbor Day Celebration,” Heffron said.