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630-981-6200 • westmont.illinois.gov

Westmont Heritage Tree Ordinance
In the fall of 2017, the Westmont Environmental Improvement
Commission (EIC) brought forth a recommendation to the village board Parkway tree
to create a Heritage Tree Ordinance. A Heritage Tree is defined as those program
tree species identified as having significant importance to the village at their The Parkway Tree Planting
respective size class. Program is one of the oldest
“Trees are not only extremely important to our ecosystem, but they also community development
contain information about our history,” said Westmont Village Forester Jon programs offered by the Village
Yeater, who is also the EIC Liaison. “We recently found a tree of record of Westmont. This program along
proportions within the village, and are working to verify its uniqueness, with all our urban forestry efforts
possibly being a National Champion-sized tree. The Heritage Tree ordinance are contributing factors towards
helps protect trees like this in our community.” Westmont being designated as
The ordinance fulfills one of the village’s Strategic Plan initiatives—Honor a Tree City USA community for
the natural environment and encourage green initiatives and sustainable more than 20 years. Planting trees
building practices. produces many valuable benefits
The goals of the ordinance include: such as; cleanses pollutants from
• Education about the value of trees to the community the air, absorbs carbon dioxide,
• Tree conservation produces oxygen, controls soil
• Support of local habitat erosion, helps reduce ambient
• Natural area protection for the future noise, retain stormwater runoff,
• Preservation of mature urban canopy and their many benefits beautification and economic value
• Promoting a positive impact on air/soil quality & watershed of the community, and much more.
• Incentives to include trees in design rather than tree removal To learn more about this program,
• Excluding ‘weed’ species
visit westmont .illinois .gov/GREEN.
Richmond Gardens update
The Richmond Education and Apiary continues to move forward. Last
year, the apiary produced over 100 pounds of honey, which were jarred
and sold to raise additional money for the program. Below, Mani Ittyavira
from BP Gas on 55th St.
in Westmont is presented
with a jar of honey from
Community Development EIC promotes
Director Jill Ziegler and
Village Forester Jon Yeater. tree care
Last year, Mani held a “Though it’s winter, we are already
fundraiser for Richmond planning for the spring,” said EIC
Gardens. For more info, visit volunteer Glenn Gabryel. “We plan
richmondgardens .org. to put out a series of informational
posts about the importance of
trees and tree care practices. It may
be surprising to learn that some
popular landscaping techniques may
be considered attractive, but are
actually harmful for trees.”
Look for more tree care
information to come out in the April
issue of Neighbors Magazine and
on the Village Website. For more
information about tree care and
the Environmental Improvement
Commission, contact Jon Yeater at
jyeater@westmont .il .gov.

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