A Tree City USA proclaims and observes Arbor Day.  Arbor Day is an Opportunity for publicity and to educate citizens about proper tree care and the value of

The City of Melbourne celebrates tree planting with an annual Arbor Day event on the third Friday in January.  Winter is the ideal time to plant trees in Florida giving trees the advantage of developing their root system well before the hot weather arrives the next summer. 

Free tree seedlings are available for people who attend Arbor Day.  We typically have Arbor Day in a different location every year.  We plant a tree at each location and invite the public to lend a hand. Tree City USA, sponsored by the National Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters, provides direction, technical assistance, public attention, national recognition for urban and community forestry programs in thousands of towns and cities that more than 93 million Americans call home. 

To qualify for Tree City USA, a town or city must meet standards established by The National Arbor Day Foundation and the National Association of State Foresters. These standards were established to ensure that every qualifying community would have viable tree management plan and program. A Tree City USA has a forester, city department, or tree board designated by ordinance to be responsible for community tree care. A Tree City USA has a community tree care ordinance that determines public tree care policies for planting, maintenance, and removals.

• The City of Melbourne has been a Tree City USA for 18 years.
• 120 cities in Florida at Tree City USA.  This is 44% of all the Florida cities.
• Orlando is the oldest Tree City in Florida with 29 years.
  

Every community, regardless of size, benefits in different ways from being a Tree City USA.  Reports of these benefits have reached The National Arbor Day Foundation through the years and are summarized below in six general categories: 

• Framework for Action: Meeting the four standards for becoming a Tree City USA provides initial direction for an urban or community forestry program.
• Education: Education begins with discussion of the standards and getting organized to apply for Tree City USA status. In turn, this can set in motion aid from a variety of professionals in the form of technical advise, literature, films, and other assistance.
• Public Image: A community's public image is a very real phenomenon and important in many ways. Being a Tree City USA helps present the kind of image that most citizens want to have for the place they live or conduct business. The Tree City USA signs at community entrances tell visitors that the community cares about the environment.
• Citizen Pride: Pride is sometimes a less tangible benefit. Gaining and retaining Tree City USA recognition is an award to the tree workers, managers, volunteers, tree board members and others who work on behalf of better care of a community's trees. Non-involved citizens, too, often share a sense of pride that theirs is a Tree City USA.
• Financial Assistance: Preference is sometimes given to Tree City USA communities over other Communities when allocations of grant money are made for trees or Forestry programs.
• Publicity: Presentation of the Tree City USA award and the celebration of Arbor Day offer excellent publicity opportunities.