OVER 3,000 SEEDLINGS will be given away on Saturday morning, April 18, during an annual tree giveaway sponsored by the Woodford County Conservation District (WCCD). Pictured from left are WCCD Chair Michael Duckworth, Woodford County Extension Master Gardener Sue Van Patten, Natural Resources Conservation Service partner Jared Davenport, WCCD District Operations Manager Nat Colten, WCCD Treasurer Curtis Congleton and WCCD Vice Chair Peggy Carter Seal. (Photo by Bob Vlach)

By Bob Vlach

Woodford Sun Staff

The Woodford County Conservation District (WCCD) will be giving away over 3,000 trees on Saturday, April 18, in a local celebration of Earth Day. The tree giveaway at the Woodford County Park begins Saturday morning at 10 in the Falling Springs exhibit barn.

While many Kentucky counties have tree giveaways, WCCD District Operations Manager Nat Colton described the participation here as “exceptional” because Woodford Countians understand the value of growing trees on private lands – whether that’s on a farm or in a neighborhood.

The annual program is a community-wide effort to get trees planted across Woodford County.

Because the trees being given away are young seedlings, they do not suffer the transfer shock of an older tree, Woodford County Extension Master Gardener Sue Van Patten said. A young tree will “catch up with an older tree,” she explained, because (unlike an older tree) 80 percent of a seedling’s root system is not removed when it’s taken out of the ground.

So instead of focusing their “growth on the roots,” a young tree can focus on growing faster, Jared Davenport, Natural Resources Conservation Service partner, said.

The 15 species of native trees – from smaller silky dogwood and hazelnut trees to large Northern Red and Bur oak trees – and buttonbushes being given away offer choices to the recipient. Having a variety of trees also benefits different pollinators and helps to reduce the spread of disease, said Davenport and Van Patten.

Van Patten emphasized the value of having a variety of native trees because “they all have a purpose” in helping to support the food web and wildlife in Woodford County.

The seedlings being given away on April 18 are purchased by the WCCD and picked up by Woodford County Extension Master Gardeners at the Kentucky Division of Forestry’s state tree farm. The seedlings will be dipped in water and wrapped in newspaper before being placed in bags with printed instructions for proper planting and care. Master Gardeners will also be available at the giveaway to answer questions.

Over 40 years ago, the dipping and wrapping of seedlings for the annual tree giveaway, the Sun was told, happened in the tobacco stripping room on Harold Carmickle’s Scotts Ferry Road farm.

This year’s tree giveaway continues to support the WCCD’s focus on the conservation of land and resources, according to WCCD Chair Michael Duckworth.

Since 1946, conservation efforts in Woodford County, such as erosion control and cover crops, have been supported by cost-share programs offered through the WCCD, he said.

WCCD Vice Chair Peggy Carter Seal added that in recent years, WCCD’s conservation efforts have been broadened to include farmers and agriculture as well as serving people living in neighborhoods and our towns.