The City of Tiffin’s Tree Commission received Tree City Recognition and Tiffin’s sixth Growth Award at the Northwest Ohio Tree City USA and Tree Campus Awards Program in Defiance, Ohio on April 17. This event also recognized the achievement of Heidelberg University as a Tree Campus. All of these awards are sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation to acknowledge towns and campuses that actively care for and invest in their local trees.
While Tiffin is not new to this award, the City’s Shade Tree Commission and Arborist crew achieved the added designation of a Growth Award in 2023. Through actions like extra training for its members, publishing articles, and applying for grant funds, Tiffin now finds itself among only 15% of other Tree City communities who earn this award each year.
Heidelberg’s new achievement is also a commendable step for both the University and the local community. Dr. Ken Baker, a retired Heidelberg Professor and current member of both Tiffin and Heidelberg’s tree campuses, was instrumental in this process and commented on the achievement, "It was only once I became a member of the Tiffin Shade Tree Commission, that I came to understand all the work that lies behind those Tree City signs you see on the main roads coming into town. The daily attention to maintaining and improving the quality of our urban forest provided by arborists Jon Potteiger and Nick Moses under the leadership of Public Works Superintendent Brandon Burner, and supported by the Mayor, City Council, and our Commission is the reason Tiffin is on track to having one of the most livable urban landscapes in Ohio."
In addition to the recent Inflation Reduction Act grant for $50,000, this recognition points to some great returns on Tiffin’s investment into its urban forest.