City of Colorado Springs to plant trees at Oak Valley Ranch Park for Arbor Day

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- In honor of Arbor Day the City of Colorado Springs is planting five trees at Oak Valley Ranch Park.

The trees will be two Northern red oak, one catalpa, and two Bur oak.

“Arbor Day allows us an annual opportunity to highlight the significance of the vision of our founder William Jackson Palmer dating back 150 years ago to create a thriving urban forest in Colorado Springs,” said Dennis Will, City Forester, in a press release. “With nearly 170,000 trees, we are proud to continue this tree legacy in our City through strategic forestry practices and thoughtful planning.”

There will be a ceremony Monday, May 1. The Arbor Day celebration will begin at 10 a.m. with an Arbor Day Proclamation reading by Mayor John Suthers. The Colorado State Forest Service will then present the city and Colorado Springs Utilities with Tree City USA and Tree Line USA awards.

According to officials, Colorado Springs is the longest-running city in the state of Colorado to hold this designation as this year marks its 46th year.

The City Forestry plans to plant an estimated 50 trees citywide, including the five to be planted Monday.