Kentucky Community Tree Recovery Campaign's Second Year Kicks-off Saturday

Salyersville, Ky. (March 13, 2015) - On Saturday, March 14, the Kentucky Community Tree Recovery Campaign -- a partnership between the Arbor Day Foundation and the Kentucky Division of Forestry -- kicks off the second year of a multi-year campaign to provide new trees to Kentucky residents free of charge to replace trees damaged and destroyed by the March 2012 tornadoes. This year's efforts will see the distribution of 25,000 new trees that will bring the total number of trees distributed by the Kentucky Community Tree Recovery Campaign to 50,000. The five counties that will receive free new trees this year include Kenton, Magoffin, Martin, Morgan and Pendleton.

This year's Kentucky Community Tree Recovery Campaign new tree distributions will begin Saturday, March 14, at 10:00 a.m. at the Magoffin County Cooperative Extension Office in Magoffin County. Additional tree distribution and planting events will be occurring throughout the five counties previously mentioned until mid-April. Additional information regarding all Kentucky events is as follows:

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Magoffin County
Saturday, March 14, 10 am – noon: Magoffin County Cooperative Extension Office, 15 Rockhouse Fork Rd, Salyersville. Advanced registration is not required.

Morgan County
Tuesday, March 24, 12:30pm: Wrigley Elementary School, 7490 Kentucky 7, West Liberty.

Kenton County
Saturday, March 28, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm: Reforest Northern Kentucky Event at Devou Park Rotary Grove, Covington. Advanced registration IS required at: http://www.nkyurbanforestry.org/SitePages/Events-Reforest-2015.html

Pendleton County
Saturday, April 18, 10 am – noon: Kincaid Lake State Park, 565 Kincaid Lake State Park Rd, Falmouth. Register at Picnic Area shelter house and volunteers will be shuttled to planting site. The Partners of Kincaid Lake will serve hot dogs at noon. Advance registration is not required.

Martin County
TBD

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On March 2, 2012, 45 tornados touched down across the nation's midsection. In Kentucky, 19 tornadoes tore through more than 100 miles of cities, towns and countryside. The destruction was so great that President Barack Obama declared 16 Kentucky counties federal disaster areas.

This is the fourth in a series of 2015 Community Tree Recovery program events across the nation led by the Arbor Day Foundation and national program sponsor FedEx, which has long supported communities in need through disaster relief, recovery and environmental sustainability.

Trees are assets to a community when properly planted and maintained. They improve the visual appeal of a neighborhood or shopping district, increase property values, reduce home cooling costs, remove air pollutants, and provide wildlife habitat, among many other benefits.

The Kentucky Community Tree Recovery Campaign is a joint effort between the Kentucky Division of Forestry and the Arbor Day Foundation. Financial support for the program is being provided by Lexmark International, Toyota Material Handling, Canon and FedEx.

Campaign partners emphasize that more help is still needed to restore these communities to their pre-disaster condition. Anyone can donate online at arborday.org/recovery. With your help, we can begin to restore these beautiful Kentucky landscapes.

About the Arbor Day Foundation: The Arbor Day Foundation is a million member nonprofit conservation and education organization with the mission to inspire people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees. More information is available at arborday.org.

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