Westchester Parks To Hold 1st TreeFest On Earth Day

SOMERS, NY — In celebration of Earth Month, the Westchester County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation will hold its first-ever TreeFest.

The event will be celebrating the Mighty Oak on Earth Day, from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 22, at Lasdon Park and Arboretum in Somers.

County Executive George Latimer said Westchester’s landscape includes millions of beautiful trees.

“They’re just one reason why so many residents and visitors love it here,” he said.

“Out of the county’s innumerable variety of species, oaks are among the most majestic and coveted,” Latimer said. “That’s why we’re inviting volunteers … to work together at Lasdon Park and Arboretum to plant a huge oak orchard.”

Westchester County Parks has partnered with the United States Forest Service to study the future of oak trees in its forests as part of the service’s Northeastern Urban Silviculture Study.

From Friday through Sunday, foresters, ecologists, gardeners and volunteers will work together at Lasdon to plant an oak orchard of 1,000-plus oak trees that were grown from acorns from Baltimore, Maryland, to Springfield, Massaschusetts.

The oak provenance orchard is a long-term study by forest service researchers who are reviewing how local ecotypes perform at different locations across the region.

On April 26 and 27, volunteers will work to pot up additional oak trees at The New York Botanical Garden. The trees will be planted in research forest plots in Westchester County Parks in the fall.

The program on April 22 will begin with morning lectures featuring author and arborist Bill Logan and forest ecologist Dr. Tara Trammell. Participants will learn more about the importance and future of oaks in our landscapes, and they can then take a walking tour of the newly planted USFS Oak Orchard. Additional activities will be available.

Space is limited, and participants must be 16 years of age or older. Online registration is required. The suggested donation is $20.

Lasdon Park, Arboretum and Veterans Memorial is a Westchester County Park on Route 35 in Somers. The GPS address is 2610 Amawalk Road, Katonah, NY 10536.