For the 30th year in a row, the City of Santa Clarita celebrated Earth Arbor Day during a daylong event held in Central Park on Saturday.
During the event, those in attendance planted close to a dozen trees, receive a free tree and/or take home some free mulch that had been donated by Foothill Soils Inc., according to city officials.
“This is in celebration of National Earth Arbor Day,” said Wayne Smith, a project development coordinator with the city. “For the most part we just give out information, and we gave out 1,000 free trees today.”
This year’s Arbor Day also comes on the heels of Santa Clarita being named a “Tree City USA” by the Arbor Day Foundation, Cal Fire and U.S. Forest Service for the 29th year in a row, according to Smith.
“We plant anywhere between 700-1,000 trees a year,” said Smith. “And those don’t include the number of trees planted when a contractor finishes something like a median.”
The “Tree City USA” designation is given to only a handful of cities around the state and country that have shown they’re responsible with their tree and foliage management, and they’ve demonstrated a commitment to plant new trees. City officials hold an annual arbor day to spread awareness about the importance of trees within an environment and community.
“The mulch is something we do because it’s Earth Arbor Day, and it’s something that we use in our (road) medians,” said Smith. “And our residents are lucky enough to be able to come here grab a bag and take it home to their garden. So you figure it’s kind of a one-stop shop – they come over here and volunteer to plant a tree, they go to the tree giveaway, they come over to get their free mulch and they take it all home and plant their own tree.”
After Mayor Marsha McLean helped plant a ceremonial tree early in the morning, those residents in attendance received the free mulch or tree themselves, they simply had to carry and/or shovel the tree and mulch, and take it back to their cars. A handful of city volunteers stood by, willing to assist those who shoveled over 80 cubic yards of mulch into the provided bags.
For more information about Arbor Day in Santa Clarita, visit greensantaclarita.com/eartharborday/.
