ARBOR DAY TREE GIVEAWAY IS SATURDAY, JAN.21
By LYNN ARTZ Special to The Sun
To celebrate Florida Arbor Day, a drive-thru tree giveaway will take place on Saturday, January 21st from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. This year’s event will be outside the Wakulla County Extension Office at 84 Cedar Avenue. Each vehicle will receive 2 young trees in pots for free.
The 19th annual Crawfordville Arbor Day celebration hopes to find homes for more than 1,000 native trees. Eleven kinds of trees will be offered: arrowwood viburnum, chinquapin, dahoon holly, hop tree, overcup oak, parsley haw, red cedar, red maple, sand live oak, sweet bay magnolia, and yellow poplar. All are suited to Wakulla County.
The Florida Forest Service is providing red cedars and sweet bay magnolias. Other trees were purchased as bare-root saplings with funds from the National Wildlife Federation’s Trees for Wildlife program. Members of the Wakulla County Garden Club and the Sarracenia Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society planted the bare-root trees into 1-gallon pots last winter and Just Fruits & Exotics Nursery watered them for a year.
To get two free trees, drive north on Ochlockonee St. from Arran Road (at the county courthouse) to get in line. After passing Hudson Park, turn left onto Cedar Ave.
Each vehicle will receive an order form, tree information, and an educational packet. Complete the order form and exchange it for two tree tickets at the ticket station. Continue around the circle drive to the 11 tree stations. Turn in tickets at matching stations and trees will be loaded into your vehicle. Vehicle occupants are asked to bring a pen or pencil and stay in their vehicles.
Master gardeners and other experts will be on site to help people choose trees. Be prepared to choose alternatives to your preferred trees as some species run out quickly. Small quantities of different trees will be offered at a 12th station after most other trees have run out. For more information or to volunteer, please contact Lynn Artz at lynn_artz@hotmail.com; or call 850-320-2158.