Shelley plants 20 trees for 20 years as a Tree City

SHELLY — Volunteers came together Saturday in honor of Shelley’s 20th year as a Tree City USA, a program that recognizes cities that meet certain standards in tree care and maintenance. To celebrate, 20 trees were planted around the city.

“We thought, ‘Let’s do something kind of special’,” said Dayle Searle, chairman of the City of Shelley Tree Committee. “We felt like it was safe enough where we could go ahead with it.”

Nearly 50 volunteers came to help. They included Miss Russet 2019-2020, Janelle Servoss; Gerry Bates from the Idaho Department of Lands; and the Lorax, a character from a Dr. Seuss book who advocates for trees.

Jacob Adams, 14, helped organize the event as part of his Eagle Project.

“It was something that made the city look nice and keep it up to date,” he said.

Trees were planted near various parks, golden valley and other locations spread around the city. Shelley’s Public Works Department used an auger to dig the holes where volunteers planted trees.

“The volunteers came and finished in a couple hours,” Searle said.

Tree City USA is an Arbor Day Foundation program which honors cities which meet four standards:

• Having a tree board or committee
• Having a tree care ordinance
• Holding an annual Arbor Day celebration
• Spending a minimum of $2 per capita on the planting and care of trees

“The $2 per capita requirement doesn’t all have to come from city funds,” said Searle, chairman of the City of Shelley Tree Committee. “The value of the hours these volunteers donate can also go towards helping us meet that requirement.”