Inverness to celebrate Arbor Day May 6

Inverness will celebrate Arbor Day, and the village’s 22nd year as a Tree City, at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, May 6, at village hall.

The event will include a tree-planting ceremony (spruce tree for planting was donated by The Care of Trees), refreshments, Arbor Day mementos and a tree raffle. The observance will be held rain or shine.

For the raffle, one entry per family will be accepted and participants must be present to enter and to win. Entrants should be prepared to take their trees with them if they win. This year’s tree is the pin oak.

In conjunction with the Arbor Day celebration, the Inverness Tree Commission will announce the winner of the contest for the best original drawing for the Arbor Day program cover. The winner will receive a plaque and a $100 U.S. savings bond.

Inverness has received the Tree City designation for 22 consecutive years because it has complied with all of the Tree City USA guidelines: The village has a tree commission, a community tree ordinance, a community forestry program and an Arbor Day observance. Participation in the Tree City USA program for the past 22 years has resulted in the planting and preservation of several thousand trees in the village.

Whether you are able to attend the event or not, you are encouraged to plant a tree in honor of Arbor Day, a practice that is more important than ever as trees are lost to the emerald ash borer. Trees produce oxygen, clean the air, provide cooling shade, offer shelter and food for wildlife, reduce noise pollution, and make cities more pleasant and homes more valuable.