Oakmont named a Tree City by Arbor Day Foundation

Oakmont has been recognized for its green thumb.

The borough officially was named a Tree City by the Arbor Day Foundation, a global nonprofit that encourages people to “plant, nurture and celebrate trees.”

Brian Crooks, chair of Oakmont’s tree commission, said the status serves as recognition of the dedication of residents and borough officials to maintaining the plant life in the town.

To earn the title, the borough had to meet a series of requirements, including a dedicated, annual budget of at least $2 per capita dedicated to resources for trees and tree care, maintain a designated tree board, uphold an official tree ordinance, and observe and host a proclamation for Arbor Day.

Crooks, 33, said that it wasn’t a struggle for Oakmont to meet the criteria, as some of the requirements already had been in place for years in the community.

“We already exceeded the budget (requirement),” Crooks said. “We also have an annual tree planting. They were things that we were already doing that we just kind of met the criteria.”

Borough officials keep space in the annual budget for a contractor to water new trees for the first couple of years after they’re planted, money for tree removal, pruning and other tree-care services.

Crooks heard about the Arbor Day Foundation through his work as a forester for the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. He has been the chair of the borough’s tree commission for the past six years.

After getting signatures from the mayor and the borough manager, Crooks was able to complete the application fairly quickly.

“(The title) doesn’t give us direct access to things like grant funding, but being able to list it on most applications for things like green infrastructure or parks shows that we have the people together to do this kind of work,” Crooks said.

“It kind of just helps to validate what we’re already doing. It’s definitely helpful to show this momentum of projects.”