Seedlings used for wildlife habitat; order deadline March 15
State teachers and youth group advisors still have time to order seedlings from the Wisconsin Nursery Program for 2010 Arbor Day observances on April 30.
Seedlings may also be used for any reforestation, soil erosion preservation, and/or wildlife habitat improvement projects undertaken by school-based groups and state-based youth organizations.
The deadline for ordering Arbor Day seedlings is March 15.
“Planting seedlings, on Arbor Day or any day of the year, has many benefits,” according to Jim Storandt, superintendent of the Department of Natural Resources Griffith Nursery in Wisconsin Rapids.
“It’s a way to plant the ‘seeds’ of stewardship and environmental awareness in kids, and it provides an opportunity to leave a living legacy to future generations.”
The DNR State Nursery Program has been growing seedlings for reforestation projects (on state, county, industrial, and privately owned lands) for nearly 100 years. Seedlings of native Wisconsin trees are grown at one of the three nurseries located in Boscobel, Hayward, and Wisconsin Rapids.
Since its creation in 1911, the State Nursery Program has grown an estimated 1.5 billion seedlings and annually distributes 75,000 free seedlings through the Fourth- Grade Arbor Day Free Tree Program. The nurseries are also involved in tree improvement research activities and various trials.
The Fourth Grade Arbor Day Free Tree Program, started in 1982, has helped teachers to share the importance of environmental stewardship with youngsters who spend their academic year learning about Wisconsin.
Joseph Vande Hey, superintendent of the Wilson State Nursery in Boscobel, said Wisconsin-grown seedlings offer a way for teachers to share information about an important state industry and to incorporate science and math instruction into students’ daily lives.
“Based on what staff hears from teachers, every fourth-grader who receives the Arbor Day seedling seems to feel a sense of pride when they plant the seedling and they have the opportunity to watch it grow and flourish,” Vande Hey said.
Gordon Christians, superintendent of the Hayward State Nursery, said schools and youth group advisors may not be aware that they can order seedlings from the state nurseries at lesser quantities than is required of landowners.
“Organizations such as 4H, Scouts, FFA chapters, vocational-agricultural groups, and environmental clubs can use tree-planting activities to help foster a greater understanding of and growing respect for the role that trees and forests play sustaining our environment,” Christians said.
This year, the Fourth Grade Arbor Day program is distributing white pine seedlings mid-to-late April. Educators/advisors and anyone else interested in ordering seedlings for planting can check tree and shrub availability online and have access to information on how to properly plant and care for the seedlings.
“Planting trees and shrubs is a great way to improve wildlife habitat and show respect for Wisconsin’s forests,” Storandt said.
For more information, call assistant Griffith State Nursery manager Jeremiah Auer at 715-424-3700.
