City Plans Arbor Day Ceremony on April 24, 2026

The Arbor Day Foundation has again recognized the City of Portsmouth for its commitment to urban forestry, awarding the City its Tree City USA designation for the 27th consecutive year. For the eighth year, the Foundation also presented its Tree Growth Award to the City’s Department of Public Works (DPW) Urban Forestry staff, recognizing the work of City Arborist Supervisor Max Wiater, the Parks and Greenery Division led by Foreman Corin Hallowell, and the Trees & Public Greenery Committee.

On Friday, April 24, 2026, at 1:30 pm, the City’s annual commemoration of Arbor Day will begin with an introduction and the reading of the Arbor Day Proclamation by Assistant Mayor, JoAnna Kelley. Portsmouth DPW Urban Forestry staff will then guide Robert J. Lister Academy students in planting two sugar maple trees on the north side of the Community Campus near the school entrance. 

Robert J. Lister Academy students take part in The Maple Syrup Makers program, an interdisciplinary, hands-on, real-world learning experience in which students participate in the full maple syrup making process, from tapping trees to producing finished syrup. The program is part of the Academy’s Farm to School initiative and helps students connect classroom learning with community-based experiences. Teachers and students from Lister Academy provide students from the three Portsmouth elementary schools with a basic education in the history and science of maple sugaring and then go out together to tap maple trees near their schools and collect sap. The Academy Maple Syrup Makers also recently completed the construction of their own sugar shack. 

During the Arbor Day event, the students and faculty will give a quick overview of their maple syrup facility at the school and the process of turning sap into syrup. The Lister Academy students will then join the DPW arborists for the tree planting.

On the occasion of Arbor Day, Foundation Chief Executive Dan Lambe said,  “In 2026, the Arbor Day Foundation is celebrating 50 years of encouraging urban forestry and is launching the ‘Million Trees Project’ to gather personal tree stories and plant one million trees this spring “Thank you for taking pride in your community by planting, nurturing, and celebrating trees. By demonstrating an outstanding commitment to sustainable urban forest management, Portsmouth has taken steps to create a brighter, greener future.”

Founded in 1976, Tree City USA is a partnership between the Arbor Day Foundation, the U.S. Forest Service, and the National Association of State Foresters. The award depends on meeting the program’s four requirements: supporting a tree board or department, a tree-care ordinance, an annual community forestry budget of at least two dollars per capita, and an Arbor Day observance and proclamation. The Tree City USA Growth Award recognizes Portsmouth for demonstrating environmental improvement and a higher level of tree care. 

Portsmouth earns its long-standing reputation with the Arbor Day Foundation because there are over 15,000 trees in Portsmouth that provide natural beauty, shade, and historic character. City Arborist Supervisor Wiater works with a team of arborists, and the nine-member Trees & Public Greenery Committee chaired by Pat Bagley, to preserve Portsmouth’s urban forest through tree preservation techniques, yearly tree plantings, and inventory management to maintain a diverse urban forest. 

For more information about the City’s urban forest and its Tree Protection and Planting guidelines, please visit: portsnh.co/PortsmouthTrees.