Peggy Jellema and Nancy Macaulay gazed at a set of potted trees set to be given away Thursday outside the Senior Recreation Center in northwest Gainesville.
“I want one of those,” Macaulay, 73, said, pointing at a southern magnolia. “It’s already green!”
She and Jellema, 76, were among about 50 attendees at the center who celebrated Florida Arbor Day, a holiday that encourages residents statewide to plant and take care of trees in their communities.
Presented by the City of Gainesville Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department, the city’s Beautification Board and the Four Seasons Garden Club, the ceremony commemorated Gainesville’s 29th year as a “Tree City USA.”
Although Arbor Day is celebrated in April nationwide, Florida residents celebrate early because of favorable weather conditions, said Mark Siburt, a Gainesville arborist.
Fifty-seven trees were planted Tuesday at Northside Park, with the final tree, a winged elm, planted at the center during Thursday’s ceremony.
Each pair of trees planted represented each year the city had been a tree-friendly community.
Siburt said it’s important for Gainesville to protect its trees.
“Trees are being removed,” he said. “It’s important to replenish the canopy that is lost.”
Contact Elise Giordano at egiordano@alligator.org.
