By Dr. Karen Bell, Keep Liberty Beautiful.
Keep Liberty Beautiful is giving away trees this month! In February, our state celebrates Georgia Arbor Day. If you love and appreciate trees as much as I do, please join us in celebrating trees this month by planting trees and increasing tree cover in our community.
To make this easier, we have a limited number of trees to offer on February 18 and 19 in recognition of Arbor Day.
Arbor Day is a unique celebration of trees, and the story of how the holiday began is equally impressive.
Arbor Day was born in Nebraska City, Nebraska on April 10, 1872. J. Sterling Morton, who served as Secretary of Agriculture for President Grover Cleveland, was the founder of Arbor Day. Morton came up with the idea for Arbor Day because he thought there weren’t enough trees in Nebraska. On this first Arbor Day, about 1 million trees were planted, which is incredible!
On April 22, 1885, Arbor Day became a holiday in Nebraska, where it originated. Twenty years later, every US state has celebrated Arbor Day except Delaware. Delaware finally joined in the celebration of Arbor Day as well.
This holiday encourages people to plant and care for trees, whether in groups or individually. Arbor Day has become a recognized holiday in many countries around the world since its beginnings in Nebraska. In 1970, President Richard Nixon declared the last Friday in April to be National Arbor Day.
Ultimately, each state has named its own Arbor Day, which varies by planting season and climate. That’s why here in Georgia, we celebrate our Arbor Day on the third Friday in February, which is the perfect time to plant trees in our climate.
Trees and healthy tree cover in our community certainly improve our quality of life. Our goal is to encourage as many local citizens as possible to help us grow our canopy, so we will be donating a limited number of trees for tree planting on Arbor Day weekend.
If you would like to reserve a tree, we will have several types available: dogwood, crape myrtle, magnolia, fruit tree and oak.
These trees are very limited, so we want to encourage civic or youth groups, schools, churches, businesses, municipalities and individuals to reserve a tree to plant while supplies last. On February 1, 2022, registrations will begin. You can visit our website or use this link to reserve your tree: https://bit.ly/klbarday2022.
Reserved trees can be picked up Friday, February 18 at Farmers Natural Foods on Route 196 from 9 a.m. to noon, or Saturday, February 19 at one of our two Recycle It! Fair sites from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. These locations are the Liberty County Community Complex at 9397 East Oglethorpe in Midway and the Walthourville City Hall at 222 Busbee Drive in Walthourville. There will also be a Shred It! event at the Walthourville site.
As a reminder, here are the objects that we will collect during the fairs:
• electronics
• household paint, provided that the cans are well sealed, not rusty and at least half full.
• used engine oil and antifreeze
• car batteries
• household batteries
• ink and toner cartridges for printer
• telephone directories, big sale catalogs and books
• household items, clothes and shoes
• old prescription and over-the-counter drugs Help us expand our tree cover in our cities, towns and neighborhoods by planting trees!
For more information on recycling or upcoming tree giveaways, contact Keep Liberty Beautiful at 912880-4888 or klcb@libertycountyga. com, or visit our website at www.keeplibertybeautiful. org.
Think of the trees!