The Village of Patchogue has again been named a Tree City USA municipality by the Arbor Day Foundation.

The Nebraska-based nonprofit runs the program with the USDA Forest Service and, in New York, with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Urban and Community Forestry Program.

To mark the occasion, elected officials, members of the village’s Conservation Tree Committee and officials from Patchogue-Medford Youth & Community Services gathered for a brief ceremony on the grounds of Patchogue-Medford Youth & Community Services on Bay Avenue on the afternoon of Thursday, April 24.

They planted a tree in the yard of Patchogue-Medford Youth & Community Services, and village clerk Lori Devlin read a proclamation from Patchogue mayor Paul Pontieri designating April 24, 2025, as Arbor Day in the Village of Patchogue.

“I urge all citizens to celebrate Arbor Day and to support efforts to protect our trees and

woodlands,” the proclamation read, in part. “And further, I urge all citizens to plant and care for trees to gladden the heart and promote the well-being of this and future generations.”

Devlin gave the framed proclamation to Patchogue-Medford Youth & Community Services executive director Samantha Wood.

“We understand the value and the importance of the environment and we’re committed to it,” Wood said.

In order to qualify for the Tree City USA designation, municipalities have to do several things.

They must enact a community tree ordinance (Patchogue’s ordinance was enacted in the 1960s), maintain a tree board or tree department (Patchogue’s board is called the Conservation Tree Committee), celebrate Arbor Day, and spend at least $2 per resident on tree-related expenses, including planting, pruning and maintaining trees.

With Patchogue’s population of more than 12,000 residents, that works out to more than $24,000, a number that Patchogue more than doubles, said Devlin, who launched the Conservation Tree Committee while she was a village trustee.

For Arbor Day last year, the village planted serviceberry trees on the grounds of Patchogue-Medford Youth & Community Services. This year, it planted a tulip poplar tree, a hardwood that is native to the area. The tree is known for its tulip-shaped flowers.

“We try to only plant native plants,” Devlin said.

Last year, the village received a $75,000 state tree-planting grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

“We’re a very green community,” said village trustee Thomas Ferb, who attended Thursday’s ceremony.

Ferb is also a member of the Patchogue Garden Club. The club will hold its annual garden tour on Saturday, July 5.

This year’s tour will include four private gardens, the Patchogue Garden Club community garden at Terry Street and South Ocean Avenue and the community garden behind the Village Parks and Recreation building on Bay Avenue, the Patchogue Garden Club’s Paula Murphy said.