The Charleston Tree Commission will be busy today.

Today is Arbor Day, a day devoted to planting trees in America.

Members of the commission will plant a tree at three Charleston schools, with the help of students, and also place a marker to the former state champion black oak tree in Morton Park on Lincoln Avenue.

Curt Devore, superintendent of parks and facilities maintenance, said the city plants about 200 trees a year.

Andy Methven, chair of the Charleston Tree Commission, said the main purpose of the commission is to recommend cutting down trees on city property or to leave them.

With the widening of Fourth Street, the commission had a number of trees to inspect.

“To widen Fourth Street, (the city) had to remove trees,” Methven said.

Usually when a tree is taken down, a new tree is planted, he added.

“If we’re going to take trees out, we’re interested in how we can replace them with the right type of tree,” Methven said.

The right tree is a major factor in planting a tree.

If an electrical wire is an area where a tree is planted, it is best to find a tree that is 20-25 feet tall, so it does not hit the wires.

Methven said planting a tree after the removal of one is a neutral loss.

The city spent $8,000 on trees last year, Devore said.

“We’re trying to get to the point where we have our own nursery,” he said.

With a nursery, trees would be grown by the city to plant at a location after they are viable.

Members of the commission include a certified arborist, an Illinois Department of Natural Resources forester, a retired biology and environmental high school teacher, and Eastern professors.

Arbor Day schedule for the Charleston Tree Commission

10 a.m. Morton Park, placing a marker signifying former state champion black oak tree

11:15 a.m., planting a tree at Carl Sandburg Elementary School

1 p.m., planting a tree at Jefferson Elementary School

2:15 p.m. planting a tree at Charleston Middle School

Matt Hopf can be reached at 581-7945 or at mthopf@eiu.edu.

A tree on the west side of old main is one of the oldest trees on campus, and sprawls across the original entrance. (Bryce Peake/The Daily Eastern News)

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