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- “Go plant a tree! Go plant a couple of trees,” Phil Goetkin, of Cape Charles, a member of the Tree Advisory Council, tells the crowd.
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- Members of Cape Charles’ new Tree Advisory Board join local conservation officials in displaying Cape Charles’ newly earned “Tree City USA” flag. From left are Christine Williams; Phil Goetkin; Mayor Smitty Dize; Paul Tiffany; Barb O’Hare; Joe Fehrer; Robby Lewis, senior area forester, Department of Forestry; Ursula Deitch, agriculture and national resources agent, Virginia Cooperative Extension; and Jane McKinley.
Story and Photos by Jim Ritch –
School children hunted for species of local trees and visitors met with local arborists at an Arbor Day celebration hosted Friday by Cape Charles’ new Tree Advisory Board.
The board, which facilitated the town’s designation as a Tree City in February, advises the town on developing its urban forestry.
The designation was made by the National Arbor Day Foundation and sets Cape Charles apart as the first Tree City in Northampton County.
The town earned the designation by passing a tree care ordinance, creating a tree care budget of at least $2 per capita, creating the tree board and holding an Arbor Day celebration with a mayoral proclamation.
A prominent organizer of the board who was unable to attend was Marita Patterson, of Cape Charles.
Arbor Day celebrations began in Nebraska in 1872 to encourage the planting of trees.
