The Louisiana Forestry Association is celebrating Arbor Day by giving away 1,000 seedlings on Friday, Jan. 19 in Alexandria.
Trees given away this year will be the Bald Cypress, Overcup Oak, Water Oak and Willow Oak.
The tree giveaway will begin at 7:30 a.m. at the LFA office, 2316 S. MacArthur Drive in Alexandria.
“Louisiana celebrates Arbor Day each year on the third Friday of January. It’s during the cooler months that’s the best time of year to plant a tree,” said C.A. “Buck” Vandersteen, executive director of the Louisiana Forestry Association. “We’re always happy to see the community come out and get a tree. Many plant them with a child or grandchild.”
Patrons don’t even have to get out of the car – simply steer through the driveway, receive some of the seedlings and drive on through.
About half of the state of Louisiana consists of forests. That’s almost 15 million acres. Most of that is owned by families in or from Louisiana.
Trees are a big part of Louisiana’s economy, too. Treees are the state’s No. 1 crop. Products from the forest contribute about $11 billion to the state’s economy. Just like row crops, trees are replanted. In fact, more than 70 million trees are planted in Louisiana each year, more than 16 trees for each person living in Louisiana.
The LFA expressed thanks to ArborGen SuperTree Nursery, which provides the seedlings each year. Saplings will be available, complements of Louisiana Forest Seed. Once the free trees are given out Jan. 19, they will be gone until next year.
The Bald Cypress is Louisiana’s state tree. It can be a large tree but is slow growing. The Overcup Oak is a medium-sized oak with green leaves in summer that turn yellow-brown in the fall. The Water Oak grows to about 60 feet, makes a great shade tree with broad-reaching branches, and its leaves offer beautiful yellow colors in the fall. The Willow Oak has more willow-shaped leaves and is a fast-growing, medium-sized oak tree.
Arbor Day began in Nebraska in 1872 and is celebrated nationwide as an annual tree-planting day to foster the ideals of conservation so that forests will always be plentiful.
The Louisiana Forestry Association has offered seedings during its annual giveaway for the public since 2004 as a way of celebrating Arbor Day, the third Friday in January in Louisiana, while promoting the benefits of trees.
The Louisiana Forestry Association is a group of 4,000 members that includes forest landowners, foresters, loggers and others employed in the forest products industry. LFA’s mission is to further the practice of sustainable forestry.