Hisle Park, 3551 Briar Hill Road, has been chosen as this year’s site for the 15th anniversary of Reforest the Bluegrass, the city's annual tree-planting event. Volunteers are needed to help plant tree seedlings from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, April 13.
Every spring since 1999, volunteers have gathered in different locations throughout Lexington to plant over 100,000 tree seedlings and to restore 175 acres of streamside forests, once native to the Bluegrass.
City agencies, such as the Divisions of Environmental Policy, Streets and Roads, and Parks and Recreation, are joined by several private and public partners to support the event. Financial supporters of Reforest the Bluegrass include Kentucky American Water, Keep Lexington Beautiful, Kentucky Utilities, Lexmark, Fortune Collision and Paul Miller Ford, Fayette Local Emergency Planning Committee, Wise Recycling and Perkins Landscape. Other supporters of Reforest the Bluegrass include Bluegrass PRIDE, Lexington’s Environmental Commission, the Kentucky Division of Forestry, the U.S. Forestry Service, and the Cane Run Watershed Council.
Volunteers are welcome to take a break from planting seedlings to explore Hisle Park, which has hiking and riding trails as well as an archery range. Development of this property is ongoing, with fishing ponds, an orchard and garden and a pavilion planned for the site.
Folk singer Mitch Barrett will be playing from 10 a.m. to noon. Volunteers who are planting trees, as well as those exploring the display tent and eating lunch, will be able to hear him from their locations.
“We wanted to do something special for the 15th anniversary of Reforest,” said John Saylor, Arborist Technician for the City of Lexington. “We are very lucky to have Mitch Barrett’s folk tunes accompany the tree planting this year.”
Volunteers can register for the event by visiting http://rtb2013.eventbrite.com.
Reforest the Bluegrass is a rain or shine event. Volunteers should dress according to forecast conditions and wear waterproof boots and gloves, if needed.
Trees at past Reforest events were planted along the Legacy Trail and at Masterson Station Park, Coldstream Park, Jacobson Park and Veterans Park and other locations throughout Fayette County.