WESTBROOK — For the last 40 years, the city has been among the 3,000 communities across the country designated a Tree City USA for its approach and dedication to municipal tree planting and maintenance. 

Now, it may become part of a new multi-city tree planting initiative being launched by Oakhurst Dairy. 

City Administrator Jerre Bryant said Oakhurst has long sponsored a public tree planting program in Portland and is looking to revive that program and expand it to Westbrook and South Portland.

“They asked us to join in the process of planning that program,” Bryant said at Monday’s City Council meeting. “They will be the key funder, but are going to be trying to leverage donations from a number of other businesses to help support the planting of public trees in those three communities.”

City arborist Doug Eaton, who Bryant called a “poster child of good customer service,” will represent Westbrook on a new committee being formed by Oakhurst management to facilitate the program.

Through former CEO Stan Bennett, who passed away in 2011, Oakhurst Dairy has long been a supporter of municipal tree programs. After the ice storm of 1998, Bennett created the Oakhurst ReLeaf Fund and donated $100,000 in funding to replace trees destroyed by the storm. Shortly after his death, Bennett was awarded Maine Forest Services’ Project Canopy Community Forest Award.

Earlier this week, Eaton was presented with a certificate declaring Westbrook a Tree City USA community for 2017. The Tree City USA program, a joint venture of The Arbor Day Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forestry Services and Urban and Community Forestry Program and the National Association of State Foresters, has been greening up communities all across the country since 1976. Westbrook has been part of the program for the last 41 years and is one of 20 in the state to earn the distinction

In order for a municipality to designated a Tree City USA community, it must have a tree department, board or arborist to look after municipal trees; a tree ordinance that outlines how trees should be planted, maintained or removed; spend at least $2 per capita on tree planting and care; and publicly celebrate Arbor Day.

“We’ve received this award many times before thanks to the efforts years ago of the late city arborist Wes McKague, so thank you, Doug, for carrying on that tradition,” Mayor Mike Sanphy said to Eaton.

Michael Kelley can be reached at 781-3661 x 125 or mkelley@keepmecurrent.com or on Twitter @mkelleynews

The city of Westbrook has been invited to join Portland and South Portland in a public tree planting program from Oakhurst Dairy.