GREAT BEND, Kan. – In 1991, the now 25-year-old Tree City USA program created a Growth Award, to encourage communities to do even more.

A "charter" member of the first communities to earn that achievement was Overland Park – which this year became the only Kansas participant that can claim 10 straight years of winning Growth Awards.

Ray Aslin, state forester for the Kansas Forest Service, made the presentation during Tree City USA ceremonies Tuesday, April 24 in Great Bend.

"Effective tree care is an ongoing process of growth and renewal," Aslin said, quoting National Arbor Day Foundation president John Rosenow. "Tree City USA provides a solid foundation for that process. But community leaders realize there is a need today to do more and to do it better."

Overland Park’s tree board, the Legacy of Greenery Committee, has met that challenge again and again, in strong efforts to be stewards of their community’s trees, Aslin said.

Minimum requirements for winning the Growth Award include:

* Recertification as a Tree City USA.

* An annual budget equal to or larger than the previous year’s.

* Completion of several approved activities from a specified list.

Eric Berg, Kansas’ coordinator of community forestry, said, "It’s difficult for communities to continually add new or improve existing programs. Overland Park has set the standard high."

The special projects that brought the city repeated Growth Awards included turning a dangerous cliff into a wildlife habitat; providing an award for local landscaping excellence; working with local government and utilities to improve tree care; encouraging schools to plant children-friendly landscaping; designing and paying for mascot Forest the Fox; sending storm damage cleanup tips citywide; helping with a national Arbor Day event in the city; and planting trees throughout the city – including in a Legacy Garden that’s a feature of Overland Park’s Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.

The Kansas Forest Service works with tree supporters and Kansas State University’s network of county Research and Extension offices in promoting Tree City USA and the Growth Award. More information about those programs is also available on the Kansas Forest Service’s Website (www.kansasforests.org).