A Jedi, a Mandalorian, and two Stormtroopers walk through a park …
No, it’s not the setup for a joke, but just one of the many sights for visitors to take in during the recent May the Forest be With You celebration in Wildcat Park in Joplin, Missouri.
The annual Arbor Day/Earth Day event was offered in conjunction with the Wildcat Glades Nature Group, Joplin Parks & Recreation, the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Chert Glades Missouri Master Naturalists and Liberty. It included a variety of family activities, demonstrations, nature stations, live music, food trucks and more.
A highlight was Liberty’s annual tree giveaway, which found area residents finding new homes for 500 trees – including eastern redbuds, flowering dogwoods, Kentucky coffeetrees, sourwoods, and sugar maples.
“When we give away these three-gallon trees, they’re cute and small, but they grow up to be big,” said Jason Grossman, Liberty’s Central Region Manager of Vegetation Management. “As part of our community tree-planting program, we also offer information about how they can find the best, most energy efficient place to plant them. We also try to educate people about why they shouldn’t plant them too close to power lines.”
These efforts are a key component to Liberty’s recognition through the Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree Line USA program. Liberty was recently informed that it has been awarded the designation for 2024 … as it has each year since 2009, said Grossman.
To be approved, a utility must meet five program standards: Quality tree care, annual worker training, tree planting and public education, formal tree-based energy conservation, and sponsorship of/participation in an Arbor Day celebration.
“The application packet goes through Missouri’s state forester, and then to the national organization based on their recommendation,” said Grossman. “You have hit a certain combined score for consideration.”
The impact of planting trees (and especially the right tree in the right place) is wide-reaching. In the Arbor Day Foundation’s Spring 2023 Impact Report, it was estimated that the 368 trees distributed will – over 20 years – result in 310,854 kWh of energy saved; 1,529,709 pounds of carbon sequestered; 5,684 pounds of air pollution removed; 6,568,010 gallons of stormwater filtered; and $137,674 in cumulative community benefits.
To learn more about the Tree Line USA program, visit https://www.arborday.org/programs/treelineusa/.