The City of Madison will be celebrating more than just its foliage this Arbor day as the city will be honored by the Arbor Day Foundation for its dedication to and care for the community’s trees.

Madison will receive the foundation’s “Sterling Community” recognition as a result of being a Tree City USA for 25 years. Cities are awarded the Tree City designation for outstanding ordinances and regulations in place to protect local trees.

However, city officials say this acknowledgement does not mean that Madison has achieved its optimum level of environmental sustainability.

Madison Parks spokesperson Laura Whitmore said her department’s mission and guiding principle is to improve environmental sustainability. She said Madison will continue to look for innovative ways to become more green as it celebrates its trees.

Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said the awards the city has received, which focus on specific green aspects in Madison, will not prevent the city from seeking further action to bettering its environmental sustainability overall.

“A great forestry program is only one element to overall environmental success,” Resnick said. “We still have a long way to go, everything from the waste our community produces to making sure our lakes are green. This is a nice accomplishment but we still have a long way to go before we are completely environmentally friendly.”

Mayor Paul Soglin, former Mayor Joel Skornicka and Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, will plant six trees Thursday at 2 p.m. in front of the Madison Municipal Building to honor the city’s reception of the Tree City USA award, a city statement said.