Dayle Searle retire as a volunteer director of Shelley’s Tree Committee
SHELLEY – Dayle Searle retires as volunteer director of the City of Shelley’s Tree Committee after 7 years of service. The Shelley Tree Committee oversees the planting and maintaining of all the trees on the city’s properties. They also plant and maintain the flowerpots that beautify the city’s downtown area.
Dayle Searle retired from the Shelley Tree Committee today after providing the community seven years of fantastic volunteer service. She met at city hall with Councilmember Earl Beattie and Kim Westergard, who passed the baton to Robin Longhurst, who now leads the committee as director.
“You have done this city such a huge service,†said councilmember Kim Westergard to Dayle. “You’ve brought so much knowledge to this job and have grabbed the bull by the horns and worked so hard.
As Director, Searle helped inventory the city’s more than 400 tree population for the first time. This process included identifying each tree’s location, type, age, and condition. This inventory helps the city know what tree is struggling and what type of trees to plant to maintain diversity in the tree population.
“You need to maintain a diverse tree population to avoid some virus or bug killing a certain type and wiping out all of your trees,†Searle said.
At last year’s Arbor Day celebration, Searle organized the planting of 20 trees to commemorate the city’s 20th year as a member of the Tree City USA program, which the Arbor Day Foundation runs.
Westergard said the tree committee does more than just plant and maintain trees. They also plant and maintain the city’s flowering pots, which are through the downtown. They also pick the winner of the “Best Yard of the Year†award and for downtown businesses the “most improved†and “Best floral pots†awards.
Robin Longhurst is now the Shelley Tree Committee director. She lives in Taylor, which is east of Shelley and has been involved in many community efforts.
