Rain didn’t stop hundreds of volunteers from turning out to participate in Reforest the Bluegrass 2011. Actually, thanks to the rain, ground conditions were ideal for digging up ground for and planting more than 8,000 saplings in Liberty Park on Saturday, April 16.
2011 was the 13th year for the event. Reforest the Bluegrass began at 9 a.m. and lasted four hours. All volunteers were provided with an event t-shirt, free breakfast from Good Foods Co-op, as well as pizza from Papa John’s or hot dogs and chips from other food donors.
According to the Lexington Fayette Urban-County Government website, the event was sponsored by LFUCG’s water quality, urban forestry and Parks & Recreation. The website said benefits of reforestation are:
- Filtering of pollutants from our environment, which provides cleaner drinking water resources
- Shading streams, which keeps temperatures down, dissolved oxygen concentrations up, and minimizes nuisance algal growth (algae-choked creeks result in “fish kills”)
- Stabilization of our creek banks from the trees’ expansive root systems
- Slowing of flood waters, which are caused by the increased number of impervious surfaces
- Cooling of the city, which reduces the “Urban Heat Island Effect”
- Wildlife habitat
- Healthy streams that perform as mosquito control
I attended the event with my friend, Ashley. When we arrived at the site, in front of Liberty Elementary, we joined a group of about 20 people, who were guided to the designated planting site. Once there, a UK Forestry professor explained the mechanics of how to plant a tree, surround with black tarp and allot space for the next tree. UK students who are juniors in the forestry program served as administrators of the volunteers, delegating duties and replenishing saplings and tarps when volunteers ran low.
Although the ground was softened by the rain Lexington received earlier that morning, the actual act of creating holes for the saplings to be placed into was more challenging than it appeared. Luckily, event coordinators provided everyone with spades that volunteers had to pounce on (much like a pogo stick) to dig deeper.
- Reforest the Bluegrass 2011 volunteer sticker
