COLUMBIA, MO (March 23, 2011) – City of Columbia TreeKeeper volunteers and Columbia Parks & Recreation will honor Missouri Arbor Day with a tree giveaway on Saturday, April 2. One thousand bare-root seedlings will be given away beginning at 8 a.m. at the parking lot of the ARC, 1701 West Ash.
TreeKeeper volunteers and Parks & Recreation Department forestry staff will be on hand to distribute the seedlings to the public and answer any tree questions. Eight species of trees will be available including flowering dogwood, bald cypress, redbud, northern red oak, pecan, blackhaw viburnum, river birch and blackgum. Members of the public may take two trees of different species.
TreeKeeper volunteers participate in a course on tree identification, planting, pruning and other management topics and are then asked to volunteer on tree projects in Columbia’s city parks and along trails and rights of way. In 2010, 86 TreeKeepers gave 816 hours of service to the city valued at more than $17,000.
The next TreeKeepers class will begin in early 2012. To find out more about the tree giveaway or volunteering with the city of Columbia, call Volunteer Programs at 874-7499 or visit www.GoColumbiaMo.com.