Trees provide the very necessities of life itself. They clean our air, protect our drinking water, create healthy communities, and feed the human soul.
This statement from the Arbor Day Foundation is the basis of Hendersonville’s Arbor Day Celebration, an outdoor event scheduled for Friday, May 6, at 12:00 pm on the north section of the Oklawaha Greenway near 7th Ave. E.
The public is invited to attend the hour-long ceremony, along with the Mayor of Hendersonville, North Carolina Forest Service personnel, Four Seasons Rotary Club members, Hendersonville Tree Board, and others. Parking for the event is available at two locations on 7th Ave. E. where the Oklawaha Greenway crosses at Mud Creek. A small parking area is at the greenway access, and parking is available at the City dog park across the bridge.
A North Carolina Forest Service Ranger will present awards from the Arbor Day Foundation to the City as part of the Tree City USA program. Hendersonville Mayor Barbara Volk will officially proclaim May 6 as Tree City Day in Hendersonville for the benefit of all citizens for years to come. And then, a tree will be planted. The event is hosted by Four Seasons Rotary Club, which has sponsored Arbor Day events since the first one was held in 1991.
2022 is the 150th anniversary of Arbor Day. To address the tremendous loss of trees world-wide as well as a result of fires, floods, and storms in America, the Arbor Day Foundation announced its Time for Trees initiative last year, encouraging Americans to plant 100 million trees in forests and communities and to inspire five million new tree planters by 2022. The initiative has been successful, and Hendersonville Tree Board encourages local citizens, neighborhoods, and communities to participate by planting trees.
Hendersonville is celebrating more than 30 years as a Tree City USA, recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation for its commitment to effective urban forest management. The Tree City USA program is sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters.
For more information about the Arbor Day celebration, call Corey Prince, Four Seasons Rotary Club, at 910-352-4005 or visit the City of Hendersonville website.
Written by the City of Hendersonville.