National Arbor Day is the last Friday in April, which was the 25th this year. Many states celebrate Arbor Day at other times of the year based on planting seasons. North Carolina’s annual state Arbor Day is the first Friday following March 15th, which fell on March 21st this year. Nonetheless, TreesCharlotte was happy to participate in some great events to mark this national day dedicated to trees. We capped off our tree planting season with two great community events to celebrate National Arbor Day on April 25th.
Friday’s event was sponsored by our good friends at community partner Piedmont Natural Gas (PNG), and took place at the popular McMullen Creek Greenway access on Pineville-Matthews Road. The parking area at McMullen Creek is now cooler and more beautiful than ever because of a new row of 12 foot tall Columnar Hornbeams planted by PNG volunteers. Thankfully, the rain held off for the event, and despite some challenging soil conditions, Team-PNG left with smiles to reflect their transformative impact on this park.
“These Hornbeams not only beautify, but they will help with needed storm drainage control in and around the parking area,” said Dave Cable, TreesCharlotte Executive Director.
Saturday brought a high-energy community event to the Steelechase community in southwest Charlotte. This community gathering marked TreesCharlotte’s final planting event of the season, and brought together residents for a TreeStore with free trees, mulch, and a whole lot of tree-care expertise. Residents were particularly delighted with the 7-gallon containerized Japanese Maples, Flowering Apricot, and Crimson Plums.
What better way to celebrate Arbor Day than with over 100 more volunteer-planted trees to grace Charlotte’s urban forest? The TreesCharlotte team was all smiles because of 11,000 new trees in our community, and the completion of a second successful planting season. Now, we beginning planning as we set to gear up for our third season starting in October!