NEW HANOVER COUNTY — Looking to update your landscaping? Free trees and grasses are available later in the month.
The 26th Annual Tree Fest will be held Jan. 19 and Jan. 20 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., or while supplies last, at the Independence Mall inside the JC Penny corridor.
Households may choose up to five trees or grasses from a selection of more than 5,000 available; a $5 donation is suggested. All are available on a first-come, first-serve basis.
“Planting a tree today leaves a legacy for your children, grandchildren, and your grandchildren’s children,” Cindy Fischer, a founding member of the TreeFest Committee, said in a press release. “Trees offer a variety of benefits to our community, including flood protection and improved water and air quality, provide shade and oxygen, and offer food and nesting sites for birds and wildlife. It’s important that we continue to improve our local canopy with a variety of trees that support our entire ecosystem.”
Species available include longleaf pine, water tupelo, red maple, river birch, flowering dogwood, silky dogwood, sugarberry, yellow poplar, pignut hickory, eastern redbud, mulberry, crabapple, and swamp chestnut oak. Indian grass, little bluestem grass, wiregrass, and big bluestem will also be available.
Trees, grown by the North Carolina Forest Service Nursery in Goldsboro, are all bare root and should be planted as soon as possible. To reduce single-use plastics, the TreeFest Committee asks participants to bring their own non-leaking bag or bucket to take home their seedlings.
Experts will be on site to help with plant selection and provide information for their care. Before selecting trees, residents are encouraged to consider the size of the site, whether utility lines exist above and below ground, proximity to buildings, and site conditions like soil type, drainage, and sun exposure.
Tree Fest started in 1997 after hurricanes Bertha and Fran decimated the local tree population. Since its inception, more than 100,000 tree seedlings have been given to area residents.
Also involved in bringing Tree Fest to fruition are the City of Wilmington, Friends of Wilmington Skateparks, Independence Mall, North Carolina Cooperative Extension, North Carolina Forest Service, New Hanover County Soil and Water Conservation District, and UNCW’s Environmental Sciences and Biology and Marine Biology.
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