If the weather stops its manic cycles of winter/spring/winter/spring with balmy afternoons one day, ice on all the trees two days later, we might, just might be able to celebrate Arbor Day in Wake Forest on Saturday, March 22.
It has always been a pretty big deal. We have always planted trees, for years this was a bird sanctuary, and we still have a healthy tree canopy in town, according to a recent tree survey.
This will also be the 35th consecutive year the town has been designated as a Tree City USA.
So we hope to have sunshine and bird song and lots of town residents at E. Carroll Joyner Park Saturday.
The day will begin with a Tree Seedling Giveaway and Arbor Day Expo from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with the Arbor Day ceremony at 11 am.
During the tree seedling giveaway, Urban Forestry Board (UFB) members, town staff and volunteers will distribute 2,600 eastern red cedar, wild plum and swamp chestnut seedlings to area residents while they last. Volunteers will be available to help residents decide which seedlings grow best in their respective yard conditions. For more information about the tree seedling giveaway, visit www.wakeforestnc.gov/tree-seedling-giveaway.aspx.
The Arbor Day Expo is a family-friendly event featuring a variety of service-oriented civic groups, nonprofit organizations and other local associations that promote proper tree care, environmental stewardship and community service.
As part of the expo, UFB members will distribute reusable “Tree City” grocery bags and temporary tattoos for kids with the “Trees are Good” logo, while the Wake Forest Garden Club and the Wake Forest Woman’s Club will serve refreshments.
In addition, expo attendees will be invited to tour the new Volunteer Tree Nursery and enjoy chainsaw carving demonstrations by JR Chainsaw Carvings. Residents will also have the opportunity to learn about and sign up for the Wake Forest Tree Stewards Volunteer Program. Several children’s art activities will also be provided, along with TRACK Trails nature tours.
Guests who pick up an Arbor Day Expo raffle card and have it stamped at each booth will be entered in a special prize drawing to be held each hour. For more information about the expo, visit www.wakeforestnc.gov/arbor-day-expo.aspx.
The day’s festivities will culminate with the Arbor Day Ceremony. During the program, Mayor Pro Tempore Zachary Donahue will accept Wake Forest’s 35th consecutive Tree City USA award and Urban Forestry Board Vice-Chair Anna Faatiliga Berg will announce the winners of the Green Medal Awards of Excellence.
Android and iPhone users can have a handy pocket guide to this year’s Arbor Day celebration in the palm of their hands by downloading the Town of Wake Forest app and using the app’s “Arbor Day” function. Designed to offer smart phone users instant access to important details about Arbor Day, the function includes a schedule of events and details about the expo and tree seedling giveaway.
IPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, and Android users can download the town’s free app by searching for “Town of Wake Forest” on iTunes, in the iPhone app store, or in Google Play or by scanning the appropriate QR code provided at www.wakeforestnc.gov/app.aspx.
In the event of inclement weather, the Arbor Day festivities may be moved inside the Wake Forest Renaissance Centre, 405 S. Brooks St. For weather-related updates, call the Town of Wake Forest Weather Line at 919-435-9569. Smart phone users who have downloaded the app will receive a push notification message informing them of any schedule changes.
For more information about this year’s Arbor Day celebration, contact Urban Forester Evan Keto at eketo@wakeforestnc.gov.
About Arbor Day
Arbor Day is part of an annual nationwide campaign to promote the planting of trees. The event began in Nebraska in 1872 when newspaper journalist J. Sterling Morton proposed a tree-planting holiday to the State Board of Agriculture.
Although National Arbor Day is celebrated on the last Friday in April, individual state commemorations are scheduled on dates better suited to their own tree-planting seasons. North Carolina officially celebrates Arbor Day on the first Friday following March 15.
The Urban Forestry Board, formerly known as the Tree Board, was established in 1978 as an advisory committee to the Wake Forest Board of Commissioners. The nine-member committee oversees all planting in rights-of-way and on public property.
