The Chicago Park District joined the Homeowners Association of Palmer Square and The Morton Arboretum in celebrating the official accreditation of Palmer Square Park as a Level I arboretum by the ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program. This is the first Chicago Park District location to be designated as an accredited arboretum through ArbNet, administered by The Morton Arboretum and the only accreditation program in the world specific to arboreta. The designation recognizes the park’s commitment to growing and maintaining a thriving tree canopy and preserving a variety of tree species at Palmer Square Park, located at 2200 N. Kedzie Ave., including a collection of over 28 varieties of trees and a historic elm grove. The public can learn about the Palmer Square Park trees and arboretum from volunteer caretakers during educational walks and events focused on the trees, as the accreditation requires. The Park District is in the midst of a multi-year initiative to expand its forestry team and to improve the resiliency of its urban forest, and has partnered with The Morton Arboretum’s Chicago Region Trees Initiative and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to conduct a citywide inventory and management plan of the approximately 250,000 trees planted in Chicago parks, and support community engagement around trees citywide.

Photo Credit: Chicago Park District