Beautiful trees, you know we love them. Beautiful trees, we need more of them. Those are just a few lines of the catchy song from Sid the Science Kid, a children’s cartoon, and something Master Gardener Betsy Randolph strongly believes.
Cale Evans tried to decide which tree would be best for his back yard Saturday morning at the Logan County Fairgrounds.
Randolph was overheard several times saying “happy planting” to several citizens, who came to the Logan County Fairgrounds Saturday morning and picked up free trees.
With support from the Apache Tree Grant program and The Tree Bank, Randolph and crew were able to give away trees for the fifth year in a row. In those years, Randolph estimates they have given away more than 6,000 trees.
The Oklahoma grown trees are replanted and are meant in part to replace trees that have been lost to ice, flood and tornadoes.
The trees are brought up from Total Environment Nursey in Ada.
Along with citizens, the Guthrie Park Committee were able to pick some out and disperse them through the city parks.
One acre of forest puts out 4 tons of oxygen – enough for 18 people for one year – and removes 6 tons of carbon dioxide, a contributor to global climate change. Trees also bring nature into our city environments, and provide habitat for wildlife.
Since donating its first seedling in 2005, Apache has awarded 3.2 million trees to nonprofit organizations in 16 states through grants from its philanthropic affiliate in an effort to enrich the communities where the company operates.
Will this program – Tree give away be available this year (Fall 2013)? Please let me know the date if its to take place and where one can find additiona details. Thank you Scott