Athens-Clarke County recently received both national and world recognition for the achievements of the Community Tree Program over the past year. 

The Arbor Day Foundation has recognized Athens-Clarke County's designation as a Tree City USA for the 22nd year in a row in recognition of Athens’ dedication to the care of the trees and the tree canopy that helps define the character of the community that makes Athens such a special place in which to live and work. The foundation also presented an annual Growth Award to Athens-Clarke County for its work over the past year in conducting a statistical survey and analyses of all the county’s trees. 

In part as a result of conducting this survey and meeting five core standards, Athens-Clarke County was recognized for the first time as a Tree Cities of the World community. Tree Cities of the World is a program of the Arbor Day Foundation and the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.

The Community Tree Council (CTC) announced the distinctions during an Arbor Day celebration and tree-planting event in Athens-Clarke County on February 18 at the Kingswood neighborhood trail. The University of Georgia also held an Arbor Day tree planting ceremony on the same day to celebrate its recognition as a Tree Campus USA. 

These distinctions and awards were made possible in part as a result of the work that the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government (ACCGov) undertook during the past year to shepherd a comprehensive study of both the public and private trees around the county. The study was conducted in partnership with the University of Georgia, the Warnell School of Forestry, and the Georgia Forestry Commission.  

During 2021, a statistical analysis was performed to assess the structure, function, and value of all the public and private trees in Athens-Clarke County. Data was collected from 316 field plots, each of 1/10 acre, over 10 separate land use category zones. The analyses show that the 13.46 million trees in ACC have a replacement value of $7.12 billion and produce over $352 million in benefits to the community in carbon storage and sequestration, avoided storm water runoff, energy savings for building, and avoided carbon release. 

Additionally, human health is enhanced by trees through cooling and capture of fine particulate matter. Health benefits include pollution reduction and avoided incidents of bronchitis, asthma, lower respiratory ailment symptoms, and heart attacks.

With a 58.2% tree canopy cover, Athens-Clarke County has the highest canopy coverage percentage of any known city of over 100,000 people in the United States. Studies show that large, well-maintained healthy trees increase property values, encourage retail spending, increase a sense of well-being in people, and add to a community's quality of life. The full Community Tree Study results are expected to be released in May.

"Many residents mention to me that one of their favorite things about living in Athens is the abundance of trees," says ACCGov Community Forester Rodney Walters. "Athens-Clarke County has an urban and community forest it can be proud of as it enjoys its distinction for the first time as a Tree Cities of the World city. We look forward to continuing to educate the community about the value of its trees and protecting these valuable and beautiful assets." 

As part of the Arbor Day event in February, Community Tree Council members also planted trees and shrubs on the Kingswood neighborhood trail in honor of the late Dr. Larry Morris, who served the community as a soil scientist. Morris was active with the council for over 15 years where he worked tirelessly to educate people about the importance of healthy soils that allow trees to be successful by providing their biological needs to reach their full growth potential. 

Arbor Day celebrates the collaboration of community partners who work to improve the quality of life for Athens-Clarke County’s residents through the planting and maintenance of trees. Partners include the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government (ACCGov), the University of Georgia (UGA), the Community Tree Council (CTC), the Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC), and Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful (KACCB). 

The Community Tree Program is part of the Landscape Management Division of the ACCGov Central Services Department. For more information on the Community Tree Program, the CTC, or the Community Tree Study, visit www.accgov.com/treeprogram or call 762-400-7519.