Hey there!
An exciting week is just around the corner! Sunday May 18 marks the start of Maine’s Arbor Week. For us in Ellsworth’s Arbor Commission, we’ve decided to kick things off with a volunteer tree steward event at our community tree nursery. We plan on meeting this Sunday, May 18, at 1 p.m. The nursery is located at the Jordan Homestead Preserve. The goal this Sunday is to dig 80 holes for 80 trees. This is an important part of every young tree’s life. The transition from life in a pot to life in the ground will help each tree spread its roots and establish itself. Also, it can get wonderfully muddy out at the nursery, so if you plan on being there, be sure to wear a pair of boots! This weekend looks rainy, so if it gets really crummy, our rain-date for digging holes will be Monday, May 19, same time.
The actual planting portion of our Arbor Week activities at the community tree nursery will take place on Tuesday, May 20, at 9 a.m. Our main source of muscle on Tuesday will be 2nd graders from the Ellsworth Elementary Middle School – but please feel free to come lend a hand! Tuesday’s goal will be 80 successful plantings in the holes dug on Sunday. A successful planting all comes down to how low (or how high) the tree’s root system is when it is in the ground. If that sounds like an interesting bit of trivia to you, then we’ll see you on Tuesday and let you know all about it! And same deal as on Sunday, wear boots because it might be muddy out there.
Our final Arbor Week volunteer event will take place on Saturday, May 24, at 10 a.m. This one will also be at the community tree nursery on the Jordan Homestead Preserve. The goal for the 24th will be quality control. We will lay out landscape fabric over and around the soil at the base of the newly planted trees. This final step will help prep the nursery for long-term success. By covering the soil, we minimize the erosional potential of both wind and water.
Please come on out to one or all three of the events this coming Arbor Week! If you plan on being there, remember to wear boots (and maybe even a pair of gloves if you have them). It might be rainy too, so a waterproof jacket won’t hurt either. Each event should not last more than a couple hours, but please feel free to come and go at your leisure. RSVP at treesteward@ellsworthmaine.gov if you’re thinking about being at one of the events, and if you’re unsure, walk-ins are always welcome. I’ll use emails from the RSVP-list to let you know if we are going to use our rain-day.
Hope to see you out there,
