SHERIDAN — Like the saplings they plant every year, the efforts of Sheridan City Arborist Clark Van Hoosier and Landscape Technician Peter Veinbergs started small but have grown into something special.
With every tree and flower they plant, Van Hoosier and Veinbergs are beckoning Sheridan residents to come outside, slow down and, sometimes literally, smell the roses.
“Sheridan as a community really values its natural resources, whether that is the watershed or the Bighorn Mountains,” Van Hoosier said. “Our goal is to have our city and parks reflect the value of those natural resources. It doesn’t take a lot to do that — planting trees and flowers is pretty simple, but they make the town pop. It makes people want to come outside.”
Locals aren’t the only ones noticing the efforts of Van Hoosier and Veinbergs. Last month, the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture — which serves the states of Montana, Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico — awarded the city its first Gold Leaf award honoring Van Hoosier and Veinbergs’ ongoing beautification efforts.
“It’s the first time we even applied for this award, and we were competing against some pretty amazing cities from across the region,” Veinbergs said. “So winning is a big deal, and it’s a real recognition of the hard work we’ve put in over the last three years.”
The award, which is only presented to two cities in the Rocky Mountain region each year, has two categories: Outstanding Arbor Day Activities and Outstanding Community Landscape Beautification. Sheridan won the beautification award, which is awarded to “individuals, organizations, or municipalities that have made significant contributions in the fields of environmental protection, conservation, beautification or other landscape activities, which have had a positive impact in promoting tree care and preservation,” according to the ISA.
Among other things, the ISA recognized the city for its regular tree plantings and signage installations at Kendrick Arboretum, Veinbergs said. Van Hoosier said the arboretum was not only a beautiful place to visit but an important source of education on the many species of trees that can be grown in Sheridan.
“One of the biggest reasons to have an arboretum is to show all the species of trees you can plant in this community,” Veinbergs said. “If you drive around town, you’ll see seven main species, but we have 65 species in the arboretum. I think raising awareness of what is possible in this community will lead to a greater diversity of trees in our city in the future. I think it will make a lasting impact, even if it’s not something we’ll see in our lifetime.”
Veinbergs and Van Hoosier have also installed signs in the arboretum informing visitors of some of the threats to local species, including the Emerald Ash Borer.
“For a lot of citizens, trees are kind of like white noise,” Van Hoosier said. “They’ve always been there, and we assume they always will be. But we’re seeing that’s not really the case. And the first step to saving our trees is education.”
Beyond the arboretum, the city horticulture technicians have planted annual flower beds at parks around the city and laid more than 400 yards of mulch on local trees this year, Veinbergs said.
While Veinbergs and Van Hoosier have been intimately involved with all city beautification projects over the last three years, they are quick to spread the credit around. It’s a team effort, they said, and they particularly expressed thanks to the city’s parks and roads departments, Sheridan Public Works Director Lane Thompson and the Sheridan City Council.
“Everybody in the city has had our back and supported us every step of the way,” Van Hoosier said. “It’s nice to have that support, because in some communities, you can get pushback on some of these beautification projects. They take time and money, but they add so much to the city.”
Veinbergs also expressed thanks to Wyoming State Forestry, which has provided the city with annual grant funding for the purchase of new trees.
Van Hoosier and Veinbergs said they weren’t going to let their success slow down their efforts to beautify the city. Throughout Wednesday and Thursday, they planted new trees along the North Main corridor.
“We are not going to rest on our laurels,” Van Hoosier said. “There is still a lot of work to be done.”
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November 06, 2021 at 03:00PM
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In bloom: Veinbergs, Van Hoosier honored for beautification work - The Sheridan Press
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