MATTAPOISETT — A flag commemorating a day dedicated to trees will fly outside Mattapoisett Town Hall for a weekend in April.

On Friday, April 26, some Mattapoisett residents gathered under the flagpole at the corner of Church and Main Street to observe Arbor Day, the national tree planting holiday. 

In observation of the day, Mattapoisett Tree Committee member Nancy Souza raised an Arbor Day flag, which she said is done every year at town hall.

“We want to make sure that we maintain and care for our existing trees, any new street trees that we plant and just for the beautification of the town,” Souza said.

The flag raised outside Mattapoisett Town Hall is white and reads “Tree City USA.” It also contains the Arbor Day Foundation’s logo of a tree. The flag will be displayed until Monday, April 29.

Mattapoisett was recently approved to participate in the nonprofit Arbor Day Foundation’s “Tree City USA” program for the 16th year, according to Mattapoisett Tree Committee chair Sandra Hering.

To be designated as a Tree City, a community must have a tree committee, board or department and a public tree care ordinance, as well as spend at least $2 per capita on urban forestry and celebrate Arbor Day with an observance and proclamation.

A sign designating Mattapoisett as a Tree City similar in design to the flag hoisted April 26 faces drivers and pedestrians traveling south into town on North Street.