Trees Forever Donates Trees to Squaw Creek Park and Flood Recovery Efforts
Cedar Rapids, Iowa – (April 30, 2009) Volunteers will help Trees Forever and the Linn County Conservation Board plant 100 oak trees at Squaw Creek Park as part of the County’s celebration of National County Government Week. In addition, another 100 trees will be potted up by volunteers for use later in replanting flood-stricken areas of Cedar Rapids and Linn County.
The planting event will take place at Squaw Creek Park on Monday, May 4th starting at 3:30 p.m. Linn County Supervisor Lu Barron will read the official County Government Week proclamation at the event. Supervisor Brent Oleson will also speak at the event, along with Shannon Ramsay, Founding President of Trees Forever. Ramsay will talk about the importance of trees, wetlands and prairies.
The oak trees being planted and potted at the special event were donated to Trees Forever by IA-WIS-IL Nursery from Cascade, Iowa. Members of the Cedar Rapids Green Iowa AmeriCorps team helped dig the trees from the nursery field and prepared them for delivery to Squaw Creek Park. The AmeriCorps team members will also be on hand at the event to help community volunteers plant and pot the 200 oak trees.
In addition to the 100 trees being planted in a wetland area at Squaw Creek Park, another 100 trees will be potted up and maintained at the park for use later this year in numerous flood recovery replanting projects. Trees Forever is working with several groups and sites in Cedar Rapids and Linn County to assist with replanting neighborhoods, school grounds, parks and other public spaces devastated by last year’s flooding.
“This year’s theme for National County Government Week is ‘Greening Our Future.’ We are thrilled to partner with our friends at the Linn County Conservation Board to plant more trees in Squaw Creek Park,” notes Trees Forever’s Ramsay. “We’ll use the remainder of the oaks to help other areas to replant trees that were lost or damaged in last year’s flood.”
The County Government Week planting event is just one of many events Trees Forever has planned as part of its 20th Anniversary celebration in 2009. Trees Forever was started in Marion, Iowa, in 1989 by two community volunteers to promote the planting of more trees. One of the two co-founders, Shannon Ramsay, remains as the organization’s President and CEO today.
Through its network of thousands of volunteers, the organization has planted over 2.8 million trees in Iowa, Illinois and the Midwest since 1989. In addition to community tree planting programs, Trees Forever also works with farmers, landowners, communities and organizations on roadside and trail planting projects, watershed and buffer planting projects, prairie planting and restoration, and youth environmental education and employment.
For more information on Trees Forever or its year-long 20th Anniversary Celebration, please call 1-800-369-1269, or log onto www.TreesForever.org.
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Trees Forever is a nonprofit organization based in Marion, IA committed to planting trees, encouraging community involvement and stewardship, and caring for the environment. Programs focus on improving air and water quality, increasing wildlife habitat, providing substantial energy savings and beautifying our landscape. For more information visit www.treesforever.org or call 800-369-1269.