By: Kathryn Fenstermacher

With snow blanketing the ground earlier this week instead of April showers, it may be hard to imagine that warmer weather is just around the corner. However, a festive weekend April 22 – 23 in celebration of both Earth Day and Arbor Day may be just what is needed to make spring, well, sprung.

Local Arbor Day/Earth Day celebrations originated with the Hartford City Urban Forest Greenscape Commission gifting sapling trees to local schoolchildren. Historically, members of the commission would visit Northside Elementary School and provide a sapling for each child to bring home and plant. With the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, such school visits were prohibited, and the commission had to think of a new approach. 

Last year, the Greenscape Commission purchased 1,200 saplings and distributed them, free of charge, to residents of Blackford County during a two-day event. To their surprise and delight, nearly every tree was given away. Residents also received milkweed plants donated by the Robert Cooper Audubon Society in Delaware County. Milkweed is a native plant that is a critical food source for monarch butterflies, according to the US Forest Service, as well as to over 450 helpful insect species that enrich the local ecosystem.

The positive community response to this gesture was a happy surprise to Dustin George, Common Council Member and member of the Greenscape Commission. “We were floored,” he said, “we couldn’t believe it.”

Inspired by last year’s success, the Greenscape Commission will again host an Arbor Day/Earth Day tree giveaway at Hartford City Hall on Friday, April 22. Between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., county residents may drive up to City Hall at 700 N. Walnut St., Hartford City to receive a sapling, a milkweed plant, and a packet of wildflower seeds, all free of charge, while supplies last. The variety of saplings available this year include Norway Spruce, White Pine, Black Oak, Red Oak, Silky Dogwood, Black Cherry Select, and Pawpaw. 

The Greenscape Commission has arranged the event in the style of a drive-through or curbside-pickup: residents can pick up their free plants without having to leave their cars. According to George, last year’s lineup rivaled the drive-through lane at McDonald’s. “People pulled up and ordered,” he said. “[The volunteers] had a system, and they were doing fantastic.”

This year’s Arbor Day/Earth Day celebration will once again be extended to the community’s youngest members. Each student and teacher at Northside Elementary School will receive three packets of wildflower seeds in an effort called “My First Garden,” courtesy of the Greenscape Commission.

Festivities will continue on Saturday, April 23 with the 9th annual Community Clean-Up taking place 9 a.m. to noon. Hartford City residents who would like to help beautify their town will gather at Oxley’s Corner (across from the Post Office on High Street) to pick up litter collection equipment such as plastic bags, buckets, and reflective vests. Groups or individuals may then move on to any area of the city to pick up trash, but are encouraged to focus on main thoroughfares as well as back alleys where trash has noticeably accumulated. 

“First impressions are always everything,” George said, emphasizing how litter in the community detracts from the town’s appeal to visitors passing through. “If we can all come together for a day to tackle the issue [of litter], it makes our community look more inviting to folks that are visiting . . . or even folks who may want to relocate.” 

The organizers have established a system for consolidating the cleanup efforts: once a bag has been filled, participants can tie it up, leave it on the street corner, text the location to the phone number provided on the bag, and then move on to another area. Organizers will drive to the location and pick up any filled bags. In past years, cleanup crews have picked up enough litter to fill a flatbed truck.

At noon, volunteers are welcome to return to Oxley’s Corner for a free lunch provided by Blackford County Commissioner John Oxley. Participants will also receive a free coffee from Common Grounds and a free doughnut from Amazing Glaze. Beyond these giveaways, George hopes that the action of coming together as a community and beautifying the city will be an incentive in itself. “It’s a big social gathering,” he said. “Even if we only get a few bags picked up, that’s wonderful.”

The attendance record for the cleanup event has been 147 in the past, and in anticipation of a fine weather forecast for Saturday, George hopes to exceed it this year. “We’re hoping for another successful event, and I’m sure we will have one,” he said.

For more information about the Arbor Day/Earth Day events, visit the Hartford City Urban Forest Greenscape Commission’s Facebook page or email dustinmgeorge@gmail.com.