ROBERTSDALE, Alabama -- Municipalities in Central Baldwin celebrated Arbor Day with events this past month as part of the National Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree City USA program.

The City of Robertsdale will be hosting a short program beginning at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 23 at the pavilion at Garrett Park.

The city will be giving away a total of 1,600 trees on Saturday, including 200 each of black cherry, fringetree, baldey press, eastern redbud, saw tooth oak, eastern red cedar, ashe magnolia and swamp white oak, said Sonja Conner with the city’s Park, Street and Tree Committee.

The Town of Silverhill gave away a total of 500 trees (100 each of five different varieties) Thursday and Friday, Feb. 21 and 22 at the Silverhill Community Center.

The Town of Loxley held its tree giveaway on Thursday and Friday, Feb. 14 and 15 at Town Hall, said Town Clerk Melissa Lawrence.

The annual Arbor Day celebrations are part of the local municipalities qualification as a Tree City USA community.

In order to qualify as a Tree City, municipalities must meet four standards established by The Arbor Day Foundation and the National Association of State Foresters.

According to the Arbor Day Foundation website, www.arborday.org, the standards were established to ensure that every qualifying community would have a viable tree management plan and program and were designed so that no community would be excluded because of size.

In order to qualify for Tree City USA status, municipalities must:

• Have a tree board or department.

• Adopt a tree care ordinance.

• Maintain a community forestry program with an annual budget of at least $2 per capita.

• Hold an Arbor Day observance and proclamation.

Arbor Day was originated in Nebraska City, Neb., by J. Sterling Morton. The first Arbor Day was held April 10, 1872 and an estimated 1 million trees were planted that day.

Many countries now observe a similar holiday. Though usually observed in the spring, the date varies, depending on climate and suitable planting season.