Volunteers prepare trees and shrubs for Arbor Day sale

Soil and Water Conservation District workers observed Earth Day on Wednesday by preparing more than 1,000 tree and shrub orders for distribution.

Seedlings and transplants will be distributed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Saratoga County Fairgrounds.

More than 1,000 people have pre-ordered bare root plants. There will also be a variety of evergreen and deciduous bare root trees, shrubs and ground covers available for purchase at low cost on a first come, first served basis.

The species available are well suited for conservation purposes, and provide food and cover for songbirds and other wildlife.

This week is National Volunteer Week and the district relies heavily on such people to accomplish its missions and goals. All board members are volunteers — Ray Bowman, Don Monica, Tom Wood, Richard Hunter, Victoria Garlanda, Jay Matthews and Phil Griffen. These and other people helped prepare the tree and shrub orders for this weekend’s distribution.

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The Painting is by Henry Hillier Parker

Arbor week to be celebrated at OU with tree planting

The University of Oklahoma will celebrate Arbor Week with a picnic and tree planting on the Norman campus Wednesday honoring students, faculty and staff who have helped with the campus reforestation efforts.

Members of the university and surrounding communities are invited to participate. The picnic is scheduled for noon at David A. Burr Park, 1501 Asp Ave., with a tree planting to follow immediately in the housing area west of David A. Burr Park. In the event of rain, the picnic will be held in Couch Center Cafeteria, 309 W. Third St.

During the picnic, President David Boren will talk about the importance of Arbor Week and the tradition of tree-planting at OU. As part of the festivities, members of OU staff will be recognized for their contributions and campus organizations will be honored for maintenance of their "adopted" areas.

OU first recognized Arbor Week in 1997 with the dedication of David A. Burr Park, honoring the late vice president for university affairs. Oklahoma celebrates Arbor Week earlier than some communities nationwide because of different planting times. This year, National Arbor Day is April 24, while Oklahoma's Arbor Week is March 22 to 28.

The picnic is free and open to the public. Call Student Affairs at 325-3161 to volunteer for the tree planting. For more information or accommodations on the basis of disability, call the Office of Special Events at 325-3784.

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The painting is by Frederik Marianus Kruseman

Arbor Day 2009

Base leaders, tree-planting volunteers, children from Maxwell Elementary School, and even Woodsy the Owl got down and dirty in honor of Arbor Day on Feb. 19.

Recognition of the day was in the form of a ceremonial tree planting and program at the school, and two days later, 100 base volunteers helped to restore Prattville’s trees hit hard by a tornado in February 2008.

For the sixteenth consecutive year, Maxwell has been named a Tree City USA community by the National Arbor Day Foundation.

The Tree City USA program is sponsored by the foundation in cooperation with the National Association of State Foresters and the U.S. Forest Service.

Beth Osgood, who works for Maxwell Support Division Civil Engineering, explained that Arbor Day traditionally involves school children and how they learn to promote tree awareness.

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The painting is by Benjamin William Leader