A healthy city is built from more than roads, buildings and public spaces.

Sometimes, it grows from the trees.

In Casper, years of work devoted to caring for the community’s urban forest are receiving statewide recognition. Katy Hallock and the City of Casper’s Urban Forestry team have been named the 2026 Wyoming Urban & Community Forestry Program of the Year, honoring the people behind the planning, planting, maintenance and long-term care of Casper’s trees.

For Hallock and the Urban Forestry team, the recognition represents work that residents may see every day without always noticing the people responsible for it.

Trees line Casper streets. They provide shade in parks, add character to neighborhoods and become part of the landscape people grow accustomed to seeing as they move through the city. Keeping that landscape healthy requires planning and care that can continue for years.

Casper’s relationship with urban forestry is not new.

The city has been recognized as a Tree City USA community for nearly 30 years, reflecting a long-standing commitment to maintaining and developing its urban tree canopy.

That commitment is continuing into a new generation of projects.

One of the most recent milestones is the establishment of Casper’s first arboretum, creating another place where trees can be appreciated, studied and experienced by the community.

The project represents more than planting a collection of trees. An arboretum can become a living resource for education and community engagement, giving residents the opportunity to see different tree species and better understand the role trees play in a city environment.

Behind efforts like these are people who spend their days thinking about questions that most of us may not consider.

Which trees are suited to Casper’s environment? How should the city care for aging trees? Where can new trees provide the greatest benefit? How can the community protect its canopy while preparing for the future?

Those decisions may not always make headlines, but they have an impact on the places residents experience every day.

Hallock and the Urban Forestry team have also been involved in broader efforts focused on tree health, maintenance and expansion throughout Casper. Their work reflects the reality that an urban forest is something that must be managed over time rather than simply planted and left to grow on its own.

Trees need attention.

Some need pruning. Others eventually become hazardous and need to be removed. New trees need to be selected, planted and cared for so they can become part of the canopy years from now.

That long-term perspective is what makes an award like this meaningful.

It recognizes work that is often measured not in weeks or months, but in seasons and decades.

Casper’s nearly 30-year Tree City USA history did not happen overnight. Neither will the city's next chapter in urban forestry.

Every tree planted today becomes part of a landscape that future residents will inherit.

That makes the work of Hallock and the Urban Forestry team about more than maintaining what Casper already has. It is also about deciding what the city’s green spaces can look like years from now.

The statewide recognition offers a moment to celebrate that work and the people behind it.

For a community surrounded by Wyoming’s wide-open landscapes, Casper’s trees can sometimes seem like a small detail.

But walk through one of the city’s tree-lined parks on a summer afternoon. Sit beneath a mature tree on a warm day. Drive through a neighborhood where established trees have become part of the scenery.

That is when their importance becomes easy to understand.

A city’s urban forest is part of its identity.

And in Casper, there are people working every day to make sure that identity continues to grow.

At Casper Buzz, we're always looking for the local stories, creative projects, community activities, and people that give Casper its character.

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Photo Credit: Courtesy of Wyoming State Forestry Division