Daniel and Cheryl Dulas nominated their oak tree for last year’s Tree Recognition Campaign. Photo: Enlighten Tree Campaign
The second annual Tree Recognition Campaign invites residents to nominate their favorites.
This month, Edina’s Energy and Environment Commission (EEC) kicks off its second annual Tree Recognition Campaign to celebrate the city’s most remarkable trees and highlight their importance to the community. Hilda Martinez, an EEC member, says trees are a sometimes-overlooked part of the city’s environmental health and aesthetic appeal. “Edina has such a beautiful tree canopy, and we want to promote that. Trees improve air quality, they are carbon sinks and they help with water conservation and cooling,” Martinez says.
And of course, trees are simply beautiful—offering shade in the summer, vibrant colors in the fall and spaces for children to climb and play. The EEC launched the inaugural campaign last year as a way to remind Edina neighbors of the importance of the trees in their yards and neighborhoods. Martinez, along with commission vice chair John Haugen and staff liaison Marisa Bayer, worked to put the logistics in place and spread the word.
This year, Edina residents can nominate any tree in the city during the campaign. It can be a tree on their own property, a neighbor’s tree and even trees on public land like parks. (If you’re nominating a neighbor’s tree, you’ll be asked to notify the tree’s owner, so they’re in the loop.)
So, what makes a tree worthy of official recognition? Any number of things, Martinez says. “We would like to see a lot of mature trees, because those need to be preserved and taken care of,” she says. But younger trees are welcome, too, whether due to their aesthetic appeal or ecological impact. Last year, the EEC recognized nine trees during the campaign in categories like Best City Tree (a cottonwood at Weber Park); Climbing Tree (a silver maple at Kojetin Park); Best Coniferous Tree (a white pine on Code Avenue) and more.
The commission members created the categories after the nomination period, so they could appropriately reflect the variety of trees and the interesting stories behind them. “We will likely have some new categories this year and will keep some the same,” Martinez says. “It depends on what trees are being nominated.”
The 2024 campaign saw 23 nominations with nine receiving awards plus two honorable mentions—last year’s prize was a beautiful wooden ornament complete with (you guessed it) a tree design. “People got so excited,” she says. “We had a lot of seniors and a lot of kids and their parents. It’s great—we have to keep the awareness going that we need trees in Edina.”
Martinez says a few of last year’s winners stand out to her. “One of my favorites was a crabapple tree that was planted at York Park in honor of a couple’s grandchildren,” she says. That tree took home the Best Tree Story award. Another memorable entrant was an expansive silver maple at Kojetin Park, which won the Climbing Tree award. “That tree is so beautiful,” Martinez says, and it highlights the importance of trees for creating an interactive environment for local kids and families.
To learn more about the campaign process, see a full list of 2024 winners and submit your own nomination form, go to bettertogetheredina.org, and search for the Tree Recognition Campaign. Nominations are open July 1 through October 15. The judging panel, which includes several members of the EEC, will decide the winners on November 15 and hand out awards at a city meeting in mid-December.
