Woodbine Mayor William Pikolycky, left, Edward Lempicki, Chief of NJ Forest Service

WOODBINE — Mayor William Pikolycky was a recipient of the 2008 state Green Community Achievement Award co-sponsored by the N.J. Forest Service, the N.J. Community Forestry Council, and the N.J. Tree Foundation.

According to a release, “The award, in the ‘Individual’ category was given to Pikolycky for his work in setting up highly successful meetings with mayors and community officials in Atlantic, Cape May, and Cumberland counties as well as mayors of the Pinelands region.”

The mayor was cited for “actively engaging the NJDEP Community Forestry Program with the NJ Conference of Mayors and the County League of Municipalities.”

He was responsible for hosting a number of meetings with mayors and other high level officials to spread the message of the importance of community forestry and the critical role that trees play in municipal infrastructure. As a result of Pikolycky’s efforts, 2008 was the single largest year of municipal participation in grants awarded by the Community Forestry Program, which was enabled to broaden the expanse of their community enrichment program to more municipalities than ever before.

Award organizers stated: “Thanks to Mayor Pikolycky’s leadership, Woodbine is a model community and is ranked first among municipalities with over $110,000 in State community forestry grants that have greatly enhanced the quality of life for the families residing in his borough. He continues to plan future opportunities to engage other mayors and NJ communities with the Community Forestry Program message of natural resource management for protection and enhancement.”

The award was presented at the annual New Jersey Shade Tree Federation meeting in Cherry Hill on Oct. 25.

“I am honored and grateful to be the recipient of such an award. Woodbine has been the communities with the highest number of grant awards, upwards of a dozen, from the New Jersey Forest Services’ various tree planting and maintenance programs.

“This has enabled me to speak to my fellow elected officials with authority on the process and the advisability of applying for such grants. Even as we speak, we are preparing to make this year’s application to the Community Stewardship Incentive Program (CSIP) for additional funds for tree maintenance.

Shortly following this application another application will be submitted for funding in order to prepare Woodbine’s third five-year Community Forestry Management Plan,” said Pikolycky.

“The original founders of Woodbine had planned this as a tree-lined community and we have continued that tradition through the next century,” he concluded.