SOUTHPORT, Fla. – To celebrate Florida Arbor Day, the Florida Forest Service will be giving away a variety of trees Friday at the Washington County Agriculture Center in Chipley.
The free trees will be available starting at 9 a.m. and run while supplies last. Personnel will be located in the parking lot of the Agriculture Center with the following tree species available: flowering dogwood, red maple, sycamore, tulip poplar, Chickasaw plum, southern magnolia, live oak, Shumard oak and pecans. Bare root seedlings and one gallon potted trees will be available depending on species.
For more information on this event, please contact Washington County Forester Tyger Adams at (850) 628-6753 or email at Tyger.Adams@FDACS.gov.
Florida Arbor Day is a time to recognize and celebrate the benefits trees provide to our state’s economy, ecosystems and communities. Pioneered by J. Sterling Morton in Nebraska, the idea of Arbor Day began in 1872. The movement spread rapidly over the next decade and schools nationwide began observing Arbor Day.
While Arbor Day is celebrated nationally in April, many states recognize a state Arbor Day to coincide with the local tree planting season. In Florida, Arbor Day is observed on the third Friday of January. To learn more or get involved, contact your local Florida Forest Service county forester or visit FDACS.gov/UrbanForestry.
The Florida Forest Service, a division of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, manages more than 1 million acres of state forests and provides forest management assistance on more than 17 million acres of private and community forests. The Florida Forest Service is also responsible for protecting homes, forestland and natural resources from the devastating effects wildfire on more than 26 million acres. Learn more at FDACS.gov/FLForestService.