Dubuque Trees Forever Holding Arbor Day Celebration

Dubuque Trees Forever — a volunteer-driven organization dedicated to sprucing up the Key City — is holding an Arbor Day celebration at Washington Park to commemorate the holiday and they are looking to get the public out en masse for this beautiful event!

Since 2017, Dubuque Trees Forever and its countless volunteers have planted nearly 450 trees across the community using hundreds of hours of volunteer service and in partnership with the City of Dubuque. They are planning an exciting Arbor Day Celebration on Saturday, April 29 from 10am to noon at Washington Park. The public is invited to attend to learn about how to properly plant and care for trees and the many benefits trees have for our community.

The event will begin with a brief ceremony including Mayor Brad Cavanagh reading the Arbor Day Proclamation. There will be a planting demonstration by board member Steve Pregler, retired Urban Forester and certified arborist. They start all their plantings with this type of training as a way to educate volunteers on how to plant properly. It will be followed by a brief talk on "How to Care for Your New Tree" by Vice President, Tom Kramer. Two additional trees will be planted to provide learning opportunities for attendees. One will be planted by a volunteer team from Dupaco Community Credit Union. This is an example of how businesses can come together for team building by joining planting projects. The other tree will be planted by Dubuque Trees Forever board members.

The event includes a K-5 coloring contest. Forms can be downloaded at this link. Another activity will be coloring paper "leaves" to learn about the benefits of trees. Three winners will be chosen from each activity and will receive a children’s book about trees.

The first 50 children will receive a coupon for a free Dilly Bar from Dairy Queen.  Tables will be set up to share information about trees and how to volunteer for upcoming projects. Sustainable Dubuque will talk about how trees play a vital role in Dubuque’s Climate Action Plan. They will have information about the tree voucher program where residents can obtain a voucher to help purchase a tree for their home.

We are excited to showcase our efforts to leave a green and beautiful legacy for our community. The public is invited to participate and we hope people will be motivated to plant trees on their own property, as well. - Dubuque Trees Forever President Laura Roussell, per a press release from the organization.

To learn more about Dubuque Trees Forever or to participate in future events, visit their website or Facebook page, or email them at welovetrees@dubuquetreesforever.org.