Auburn and Opelika are gearing up for the annual Arbor Day celebrations.
"We have what's called Tree City USA and Tree Campus USA status," said Art Chappelka, professor of forest biology and chairman of the Auburn City Tree Commission. "As a provision of that, we have to celebrate Arbor Day--not that we wouldn't anyway, but that's part of it."
Chappelka said the day is to celebrate trees, but Tipi Miller, executive director of Keep Opelika Beautiful, stressed the educational importance of Arbor Day.
"It's really a day where we learn about the importance of trees," Miller said. "Trees are something that we take for granted. Unless something goes wrong, we don't think about them or the benefits they provide daily."
The cities have several activities planned for the day.
Opelika will celebrate Friday from 9-11 a.m. at the Opelika Sportsplex and Aquatic Center.
"We always do a tree (planting) demonstration," Miller said. "It's an educational way to show the public the best way to plant a tree. We'll also give away tree seedlings. Those are about 2-feet-tall trees."
Children will get to plant a tomato seed in a paper cup to take home with them.
Miller said KOB makes children a primary focus of its Arbor Day education.
"I usually go to elementary schools and say, 'What would we not have without trees? We wouldn't have this building. We wouldn't have this pencil,'" Miller said. "So many things are made of trees that we don't think about. KOB works in all of the schools with different programs. They're the future. We want to go ahead and make them realize how important the environment is."
In Auburn, the Tree Commission will have a tree giveaway Friday from 9 a.m. to noon at Kroger, Wal-Mart on South College and the Davis Arboretum and a proclamation signing Monday at 2 p.m.
"The purpose is to raise awareness and encourage people to plant trees," said Becky Richardson, director of parks and recreation for Auburn. "It's very popular, and we usually wind up giving away the majority of the trees."
Chappelka said Arbor Day reinforces an appreciation that already exists in Auburn.
"We have a great appreciation for it, mostly because of the University," Chappelka said. "We have a forestry department, and we have a long history of maintaining trees, especially with the Toomer's oaks."
Chappelka said events in the past year have added to this appreciation.
"(Alabama has) lost an enormous amount of tree canopy because of tornadoes," Chappelka said. "I have noticed more of an appreciation of trees in the city due to (the poisoning of the Toomer's oaks). I think a lot of folks here really appreciate trees, but the state has probably gained more of an appreciation because of those events."
Richardson believes these events created the makings for a more meaningful Arbor Day.
"I think it's very fitting this year, not just in Auburn, but in other places in Alabama because of all of the trees that were lost in the tornadoes in the past year," Richardson said. "I think it's highlighted the importance of trees a little bit more this year."
Miller had similar sentiments.
"Even with the terrible things that have happened with the Toomer's trees, in a positive way it's really brought to light the importance of trees," Miller said. "People realize how valuable they are, whether it's rolling them or just the heritage or history they have."
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
