Tree Planting Event to be held Saturday, Oct. 24

Parkersburg, Iowa (October 9, 2009) – Volunteers are needed to help plant approximately 30 new trees in a tornado-ravaged neighborhood in Parkersburg. The planting event will take place on Saturday, October 24, starting at 9:00 a.m. Trees Forever is helping to organize this fall tree planting event as part of its ongoing Recover, Replant & Restore program.

Trees Forever has been working with Parkersburg residents since shortly after a May 2008 tornado devastated the small Iowa community. Trees Forever Program Manager Meredith Borchardt helped Parkersburg residents organize a local tree committee that has been very active since last year’s disaster. In addition to applying to be a Tree City USA community, coordinating several tree distributions and planting events, the committee also helped update and revise the town’s tree ordinance. The planting event will showcase some of the street tree species recommended in the new tree ordinance.

Volunteers wishing to assist tree committee members with the tree plantings can gather at the intersection of Conn Street and Dorothy Avenue, 1 block south of City Hall. Volunteers should dress for outdoor work and the weather, bring work gloves, and wear heavy shoes or work boots. Open-toed shoes are not recommended. You may also bring your own shovels, rakes and wheelbarrow.

Approximately 30 trees will be planted in a residential area of Parkersburg that was in the direct path of the May 2008 tornado. In addition, a limited number of trees, both evergreen and deciduous, will also be available for Parkersburg residents for planting at their homes. There is no charge for these donated trees, and they will be available on a first-come basis only.

Trees Forever has been working in Parkersburg as part of its larger Recover, Replant, & Restore program. The program was established by Trees Forever in 2008 to providing technical assistance, planning support, and grant funding for communities re-greening and recovering from the 2008 natural disasters.  This year alone, Trees Forever has provided funding or staff support to over two dozen disaster-affected communities. The Recover, Replant & Restore program received major funding from Van Meter Industrial and numerous other organizations.

Parkersburg is also benefiting from another Trees Forever program this year - the Iowa’s Living Roadways Community Visioning program. The Community Visioning program provides conceptual planning and design assistance to help improve and enhance transportation corridors in smaller Iowa communities. The program is a partnership between Trees Forever, the Iowa D.O.T., and Iowa State University Landscape Architecture Extension.  The focus of the program work in Parkersburg has been developing landscape design concepts to enhance the Highway 57/14 corridor that was severely impacted by the tornado.
 
For more information on the October 24 tree planting event, please contact tree committee members Valerie Thorne at (319) 346-1651 or vjthorne@hotmail.com, or Virgil Goodrich at (319) 346-1023 or pedofc@mchsi.com. Additional information can be found at http://www.replantparkersburg.org. For more information about Trees Forever’s Recover, Replant & Restore program, please call 800-369-1269 or log onto www.treesforever.org.