Highland Earns 2025 Tree City USA Recognition from Arbor Day Foundation
Highland, Kansas- The Arbor Day Foundation named Highland a 2025 Tree City USA in honor of its commitment to plant, grow, and maintain trees to benefit its community.
The Arbor Day Foundation is a global nonprofit with a mission to inspire people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees. Its network of more than a million supporters and partners has helped the organization plant more than 500 million trees in forests and communities across more than 60 countries. The Foundation’s Tree City USA program is now celebrating its 50th recognition season. The anniversary underscores the program’s rich history of growing healthier, greener, and more resilient communities through urban forestry.
“For five decades, Tree City USA has rallied passionate local leaders to enhance the livability and sustainability of their communities. Tree champions like Highland are leading the way in a growing movement to shape a better future with trees and action,” said Michelle Saulnier, Vice President of Programs at the Arbor Day Foundation. “Trees are critical infrastructure, building resiliency and fostering good health in our nation’s cities. We’re proud Highland is among the Arbor Day Foundation’s growing network of communities dedicated to creating positive impact through trees.”
In cities and neighborhoods, trees are proven to help mitigate the urban heat island effect, reduce stormwater runoff, improve air quality, and boost mental and physical health. When the right trees are planted in the right places, they can also reduce traffic noise, increase property values, and lower energy costs for homeowners.
The City of Highland has prioritized tree stewardship to help create a healthier tree canopy by removing the dead, dying or diseased trees along the city streets and maintenance of the existing trees located in the city parks. The City of Highland is dedicated to planting and maintaining new trees in community areas and parks to create a healthier, more attractive tree canopy.
To earn Tree City USA recognition, a city must uphold four core standards including maintaining a tree board or department, having a community tree ordinance, spending at least $2 per capita on urban forestry, and participating in an Arbor Day celebration.
The Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree City USA program is operated in partnership with the National Association of State Foresters and the USDA Forest Service. To learn more about the program or how to apply, visit arborday.org.
About the Arbor Day Foundation
The Arbor Day Foundation is a global nonprofit inspiring people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees. They foster a growing community of more than 1 million leaders, innovators, planters, and supporters united by their bold belief that a more hopeful future can be shaped through the power of trees. For more than 50 years, they’ve answered critical need with action, planting more than half a billion trees alongside their partners. And this is only the beginning.
You can find the official proclamation from the city of Highland here.
