The City of Falls Church has been named a Tree City USA community by the Arbor Day Foundation for the 39th year in a row. The City will celebrate the honor at the 126th anniversary of Arbor Day on Saturday, April 22, with a morning ceremony at 11:30 a.m. followed by an afternoon neighborhood tree planting from 12:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

The Arbor Day ceremony will be held on the back lawn of The Scout House (128 S. Spring St.). Jim McGlone, from the Virginia Department of Forestry, will be presenting the City with its 39th consecutive Tree City USA award for 2016. The Neighborhood Tree Program’s spring planting will immediately follow the ceremony.

The event is open to the community and will be presented by the City and the Village Preservation and Improvement Society (VPIS). Volunteers interested in planting trees are requested to wear sturdy shoes, bring gloves and shovels (if possible), and RSVP to Seth Heminway at heminway.seth@gmail.com or (703) 389-7360.

This year marks the 125th anniversary of Virginia’s first Arbor Day in 1892, which was held in Falls Church at Frady Park. The 2017 tree of the year, selected by the City of Falls Church Tree Commission, is the flowering dogwood — Virginia’s state flower and state tree.