Arbor Day may not be until April 29, but Evesham residents eager to plant a tree will have a chance to snap up a free seedling on April 16.
On that day, members of the Evesham Environmental Commission will be on hand from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Laurel Oak Garden Center, 199 Tomlinson Mill Road, to give residents a free tree seedling as part of the NJ Tree Recovery Campaign.
The campaign is the partnership between the New Jersey Forestry Service and the Arbor Day Foundation that focuses on providing trees to communities and homeowners in New Jersey that lost a large number of trees several years ago due to Hurricane Sandy.
More than 200,000 trees have been distributed through the program to date, with the goal of the campaign to distribute more than 500,000 tree seedlings to New Jersey residents within a five-year time span.
“This has been going on for a couple of years now, and townships can apply to the NJ Tree Recovery Campaign, ask for a certain number of trees and just hand them out to the residents,” Evesham Environmental Commission member Ila Vassallo said.
Vassallo said seedlings would be available to residents on a first-come, first-served basis on April 16, at which time residents will also be provided with guides on how to store, plant and care for their new seedling. The instructions will include information such as how to plant the tree and how to find the best place on a property to plant the tree.
Residents who are interested in obtaining a seedling of their own are advised that the seedling should be planted within two days after receiving it to prevent the seedling roots from drying out.
The seedlings will measure one to three feet, although Vassallo said the specific types of trees available won’t be known until the environmental commission receives the trees.
“They’re native to the region that you’re associated with, so it’s all trees from South Jersey,” Vassallo said.
The trees are expected to be an asset to the community once planted and maintained, the township stated in a press release.
The trees are expected to produce several benefits, including improving the visual appeal of neighborhoods, increasing property values, reducing home cooling costs, removing air pollutants, providing wildlife habitat and more.
Regarding the April 16 event, Vassallo said members of Operation Yellow Ribbon of South Jersey will also be on hand to collect items for the group’s care package efforts. OYRSJ collects items to distribute to members of the U.S. armed forces who are stationed overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq.
For a list of requested care package items, visit www.operationyellowribbonsouthjersey.org/donate-care-package-items/.
Those interested in learning more about the free seedlings can contact the Laurel Oak Garden Center at (856) 596–7779.
