In recognition of National Arbor Day and the 35th anniversary of Earth Day, town forester John Dudzinsky and town naturalist Susan Lilly organized a tree planting/stream clean up event April 22.
In addition to educating the audience of council members and elementary-school students about Arbor Day and Earth Day, the town received a "Tree City USA" award from Judy Okay, Virginia Department of Forestry.
This is the 16th consecutive year that the town has received this award.
As the 35th anniversary, programs at the event reflected on the first observance of Earth Day, founded by Sen. Gaylord Nelson.
During its first observance, 20 million American activists from across the country participated at the grassroots level, demonstrating a broad and deep support among citizens to protect environmental quality.
The Earth Day Network's theme, "Protect Our Children and Our Future" is geared toward generating support to protect the environment for the sake of children in the future.
In addition, Arbor Day was first proposed to the Nebraska Board of Agriculture in 1873 by J. Sterling Morton as a day to be set aside to plant trees.
The day was first observed in Nebraska with the planting of more than one million trees.
Locally, Holder Construction Company, general contractor for the new police station, donated a service berry tree this year to be planted in honor of the event.
After the tree planting audience members joined Lilly, Dudzinsky and members of the Mineral Management Services of the Town of Herndon in a clean up of the Sugarland Run stream.