LOCALnews
The 2021 Celebration of Trees By Charlotte Benedetto
Have you ever enjoyed a gorgeous buckeye, or placed a stunning autumn leaf on your mantel? Fan of foliage? Mad about bark? Hold onto your acorn caps, get limbered up, and maybe write a note to your favorite squirrel—the 2021 Celebration of Trees is here and it is truly monumental. Cultural stress and the ache of environmental anguish have us worn out beyond belief. Maybe it’s time to call on the copse and take a forest bath. Rip out the vines that bind, or maybe set up a hobby woodland. The 2021 Celebration of Trees has so much to offer, folks might feel a little stumped about where to begin. This fall marks the launch of a fiveyear native tree campaign, a collaborative effort to encourage residents and businesses across Northern Virginia to plant more native trees and preserve the ones we have already. “This is our deputization campaign,” Margaret Fisher of Plant NOVA Trees told Washington Gardener, “We put out a call, and, well, they responded!” Individuals and groups, both public and private, have created a dizzying array of tree-oriented events that are happening all over Northern Virginia through November. “We want to remind people that they like trees and that they need trees,” Fisher said. Native trees specifically are an essential part of our local ecosystem, supporting our butterflies, songbirds, and other wildlife. Native trees can: • Cool our environment and reduce air conditioning costs. 14
WASHINGTON GARDENER
SEPTEMBER 2021
• Provide a windbreak in the winter. • Capture stormwater and protect our streams and the Chesapeake Bay. • Clean our air and water. • Promote human health. Among the events being offered is Shinrin-yoku, or “Forest Bathing”—a nature-reverent health practice. The positive psychological effects of being near trees are well known—give it a whirl at the Forest Bathing session at Laurel Hill. Maybe you’d feel good about planting a seedling for a better future. The Celebration of Trees has multiple tree planting and restoration events, running all autumn in locales from Manassas to Lorton. Get into nut collecting, a foraging and plant identification activity—find, then identify, a nut, then mail it to Virginia Department of Forestry for germination. Seedlings will be grown on and placed in developing forests to sequester carbon. Kid-friendly events are running weekly during the celebration from Aldie to Annandale: tree scavenger hunts, a “Jurassic Gardener” and “Big Trees and Bees” meetup for little guys; older kids might enjoy Trees for Love planting, tree rescue instruction, planting events, or hike-and-draw activities. The whole family can stroll in gatherings such as Purcellville’s Hail to the Trail Green Expo. Parkland and trees all over the Washington, DC-area are often entirely shrouded and draped in vines. Lake Accotink’s Klub Kudzu teaches removal and identification techniques. Volunteers release their aggressions by showing invasive vines like kudzu, wisteria,
and English ivy just how we feel about their unwanted advances. “If people only knew how damaging these vines are!” said Fisher. These nasty vines are strangling, “choking out” our native trees. Feel more comfortable in your den? The Celebration of Trees has you covered, too. You can connect with the forest remotely. Explore the philosophical “Mother Tree,” sit in on the Urban Tree Summit, or observe the Steering Committee meeting; learn about selecting native trees, four-season native design, managing pests, or the Climate Action Group. “The key is connecting individuals to native trees,” explained Fisher. “You don’t need a whole education to choose the right native tree or shrub, nor specialist tools. With Plant NOVA Trees and the volunteers at the Celebration, anyone can do this! You don’t need a lot of space. Shrubs are just small trees; they offer the same benefits. And, you don’t need decades. You’ll see results. The trees work fast!” Native plant sales can be found all over the region during the Celebration, and the Town of Vienna is even giving away native plants and shrubs in early October. Find all of the event listings and details at www.plantnovatrees.org. “The lands that most need native trees so often are private lands,” Fisher said. But navigating plant selections can be a challenge. Volunteers went into garden centers on their own time and “red-tagged” and labeled native trees and shrubs, to better point homeowners toward native selections. “The key is connecting native plants to individuals [by activating local tree ecology] with the immense power of organized individuals,” said Fisher. This teamwork is probably the greatest boast of the Celebration of Trees; a portentous achievement. It seems obvious that to survive the future, we need to work together to plant, honor, and celebrate trees, and “we cannot wait,” said Fisher. o Charlotte Benedetto is a writer, artist, and gardener living in Great Falls, VA. She is enrolled in the Northern Virginia Community College horticulture program and is an intern this fall with Washington Gardener.
