OXFORD – The Oxford Village Tree Board met on April 8th and firmed up plans for the 17th annual “Tree City USA” Arbor Day Celebration. The date will be Saturday, May 1, at 9 a.m., at the LaFayette Park bandstand. Plans include an award ceremony, prize presentations to be made to three Oxford Academy 5th grade Arbor Day poster contest winners, a poster exhibit at 6 On The Square, and a give away of 300 seedling trees. The Oxford Village Tree Board encourages families and individuals to have a planting celebration of their own on Arbor Day.

Oxford was recently named a “Tree City USA,” for its 17th year in a row, by the National Arbor Day Foundation. One of the standards for that designation is that the community must have a tree board, which the village has. The Oxford Village Tree Board members are Roger Monaco, Gray Stevens, Dale Johnson, John Godfrey and Jeanie Petersen.

Having an Arbor Day observance is another standard, and the Tree Board enjoys coordinating this ceremony with a tree give away. The seedlings that were chosen are the Norway Spruce and Balsam Fir. Both are hardy evergreen trees which have been ordered from the Meadowview Tree Farm LLC, a small nursery in Western NY. Both conifers have great features making the planting decision a difficult one.