Press Releases - Department of Transportation

For Immediate Release: Thursday, April 28, 2022

Montgomery County will celebrate Arbor Day by commemorating the black tupelo as the new County tree. The County’s departments of Environmental Protection, Transportation and Parks will participate in an event at 4 p.m. on Arbor Day, Friday, April 29. The event will be at the East County Community Recreation Center, which is located at 3310 Gateshead Manor Way in Silver Spring.

At the event, there will be tree planting, trees will be raffled off and volunteers will take part in a trash pickup. It is hoped the activities will bring attention to the new County tree and encourage the planting of trees so the tree canopy increases. Residents also can register for “plogging” supplies at the event. Plogging is an innovate way to help the environment by doing an exercise like jogging, walking or biking while picking up trash.

“The black tupelo is now added to the list of county symbols that includes the robin as the County bird, the dogwood as the County blossom and the County seal,” said County Department of Environmental Protection Acting Director Adriana Hochberg. “The black tupelo is resilient, beautiful and critical to our County ecosystem and tree canopy. It’s a perfect symbol for Montgomery County as our official tree”.

The black tupelo is native to the County and is a great shade tree, known for its long life. It is one of the trees most requested from the Tree Montgomery Program. County Executive Marc Elrich sent legislation to the County Council last year recommending the black tupelo as the County tree. In March, the Council approved that legislation.

“The Montgomery County Department of Transportation is lucky to have a highly knowledgeable team of eight highly specialized arborists that ensure the health of our tree canopy and are at our residents’ service,” said Department of Transportation Director Chris Conklin. “So far, this fiscal year, MCDOT has planted nearly 1,700 trees and we manage about 500,000 trees in the County rights of way. While we plant on roadway islands and on grounds of County facilities, most of our trees are planted within neighborhoods along County roadways. We encourage residents to make requests for trees in the rights of way by calling 311.”

Trees improve air and water quality and help reduce erosion and flooding. They are also a habitat for plants, birds and animals. People benefit too. Trees are a huge part of providing the oxygen needed to breathe.

For more information on how planting trees benefits Montgomery County, and to sign up for a free shade tree, visit treemontgomery.org.

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Media contact: Veronica Robinson, [email protected], 202-875-1563

Release ID: 22-052
Media Contact: Veronica Robinson 202-875-1563