Charleston Reporter

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (December 20, 2022) – The Town of Mount Pleasant recently celebrated Arbor Day with a tree giveaway event at Park West Recreation Center as part of its Take Root initiative and urged residents to assume responsible roles for preserving, protecting, and planting trees.   Arbor Day in South Carolina is the first Friday of December.  The tree giveaway consisted of 3-gallon sized Winged Elm, Dahoon Holly, Witch Hazel, Carolina Snowbell, Bald Cypress, Swamp Chestnut Oak, and Sweet Bay Magnolia trees.  Nearly 60 free trees were distributed at the event, in partnership with Clemson Extension, the City of Goose Creek and the South Carolina Forestry Commission.

 

“Arbor Day is of special significance to the Town and to the Tree City USA designation that we have earned for the past 33 years,” said Eddie Bernard, RLA, LEED AP, Urban Forester, and Municipal Specialist Certified Arborist. “The first Arbor Day was celebrated in the State of Nebraska in 1872 in response to a state proclamation urging settlers and homesteaders in that prairie state to plant trees that would provide shade, shelter, fruit, fuel, and beauty for residents of the treeless plains. Today, South Carolina and the Town of Mount Pleasant join in this national effort by celebrating Arbor Day in the early days of December.”

"Trees are a renewable resource giving us paper, wood for our homes, fuels for our fires, beauty for our community, and most importantly a source of joy and spiritual renewal,” Bernard added. Since receiving the first Tree City USA award, the Town of Mount Pleasant has planted nearly 8,000 trees, mostly live oaks, within its town limits.”

 

J. Sterling Morton founded Arbor Day more than a century ago. His simple idea of setting aside a special day for tree planting is now more important than ever. Trees can reduce the erosion of our precious topsoil by wind and water, cut heating and cooling costs, moderate the temperature, clean the air, produce life-giving oxygen, and provide habitat for wildlife.

Original source can be found here.