About 30 Gainesville residents gathered at the Thomas Center on Thursday to observe Arbor Day, a holiday that promotes planting and caring for trees.
The event, hosted by the Gainesville Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs and the City Beautification Board, celebrated more than the shade and scenery that the city's trees provide.
"It's really about a community of people who love and cherish the value of trees," Commissioner Randy Wells said in a speech. "Trees provide something solid to hold onto when there's so much changing in the world around us."
Gainesville also celebrated its 28th year as a Tree City USA community, a title given to cities that meet specific budgeting and ordinance standards set by the Arbor Day Foundation. About 9 percent of Tree City USA communities have reached the program's 25-year anniversary, said Anita Spring, City Beautification Board chairwoman.
The City of Gainesville planted 56 trees in honor of Arbor Day at Evergreen Cemetery, the Thomas Center and along University Avenue, according to Earline Luhrman, city urban forestry inspector.
Those who attended the event were invited to shovel soil into a hole around a newly planted Magnolia tree. Spring said helping plant the final tree each Arbor Day gives her a sense of possession.
"As you walk around Gainesville, you take ownership of these trees," Spring said in an interview. "They belong to all of us."
