Hendersonville – An outdoor event is scheduled for Friday, May 10, at noon, at Patton Park, 1730 Asheville Hwy in Hendersonville as part of the Tree City USA Program. 2024 is the 152nd anniversary of Arbor Day, as a national celebration. Three handsome red oak trees will be planted near the trail from Patton Park to the Oklawaha Greenway, along the fence of the old ball field. The Red Oak Tree is a deciduous hardwood tree with a vibrant red fall color; it has a fast growth rate and is suitable for urban areas. Not only are they tall and stately, but they support wildlife. Their acorns are prized by squirrels, chipmunks, deer, turkey, and other mammals.
City staff in Public Works will be poised to help with the planting. The hour-long ceremony will include the Mayor of Hendersonville, North Carolina Forest Service personnel, Four Seasons Rotary Club members, Hendersonville Tree Board members, and any citizen who wishes to attend. At the event, a North Carolina Forest Service Ranger will present awards from the Arbor Day Foundation to the City as part of the Tree City USA program. Hendersonville Mayor Barbara Volk will officially proclaim May 10 as Tree City Day in Hendersonville. The event is hosted by the Four Seasons Rotary Club, which has sponsored Arbor Day events in Hendersonville since the first one was held in 1991.
Trees are a vital part of a healthy and vibrant community, providing ecological, aesthetic, and economic benefits. Trees help cool cities, clean the air, protect against floods and water pollution, and combat climate change. Sadly throughout Western North Carolina, anyone can see huge swaths of land now devoid of any trees or vegetation, where a developer is clearing the property, so he can build the upcoming apartment building, hotel, or housing development. Fortunately, the City of Hendersonville is working hard to encourage its citizens to help protect the land with recommendations given to City Council by the City’s Tree Board. In addition the City is offering the community a means to plant more trees through a NeighborWoods program. This program is available to all Hendersonville residents.
Current NeighborWoods Programs
Blue Ridge Villas, a development near Blue Ridge Mall, is adding 24 new trees planted by residents. They include serviceberry, two types of magnolia, redbuds, and flowering dogwoods, which will beautify streets and common areas in the development. A homeowner in the historic neighborhood of Druid Hills, which is known for its large mature trees, will be planting new Sweetbay magnolias and a dogwood. Park Place condominiums, off Greenville Hwy., will be adding 15 large saplings to the landscape there, with a couple of red oaks and crabapples along with serviceberry, redbuds, and dogwoods. Along U.S. 191, residents at Henderson Village, are taking advantage of the free trees to add eight mid-height dogwoods, crabapples, redbud, and serviceberries. These handsome specimens will be beautiful and support wildlife and pollinators for years.
According to the Arbor Day Foundation, which sponsors the Tree City USA program, the nation has experienced a serious decline in tree cover in urban areas. One representative of the U.S. Forest Service has stated that “urban deforestation compares with what’s going on in the world’s rain forests.” As a long-time and award-winning member of the Tree City USA program, Hendersonville works to protect and restore urban trees. Over 400 trees have been planted in Hendersonville neighborhoods and historic districts, along thoroughfares, and at businesses and schools through the NeighborWoods program since 2010. The NeighborWoods program was created to help residents replace trees and improve the environmental and economic benefits that trees provide. Funds to purchase trees come from budget allocations by the City to the Tree Board. To learn more about the NeighborWoods Program and how individuals and organizations can participate, visit the Tree Board website at www.hvlnc.gov/neighborwoods-projects, or email coordinator Mac Brackett at macbrackett@ioa.com.
The Arbor Day Foundation
For the last 52 years, the Arbor Day Foundation has planted an astounding 500 million trees worldwide. The Arbor Day Foundation is an American 501-C3 nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees. The Arbor Day Foundation has more than one million members. Their Tree City USA program provides communities with a four-step framework to maintain and grow their tree cover. Both Asheville and Hendersonville have received Tree City recognition by meeting four overarching standards. These include:
1. Maintaining a tree board or department
2. Having a community tree ordinance
3. Spending at least $2 per capita on urban forestry
4. Celebrating Arbor Day. Asheville’s took place on April 26, and Hendersonville’s will be celebrated on May 10th.