Howard County Government Gives Out 2,000 Native Trees in Annual Tree Giveaway
September 2021
By 2pm on Saturday Sept 25, 2000 native trees had been picked up by Howard County residents as a part of the Ball Administration’s Tree Giveaway. The annual project is put together by the Department of Recreation & Parks in cooperation with the Office of Community Sustainability.
“Fall is the best time of year to plant trees,” said Howard County Recreation & Parks Director A. Raul Delerme.
After lots of excitement and engagement over last year’s giveaway, where 2020 trees were given out for the year 2020, residents were notified in advance of the upcoming sign ups via email and social media. Each resident was allowed up to two trees and a choice between four different native species: Redbud, Black Gum, Red Maple, Flowering Dogwood. Native species live longer, require less care and provide benefits to local pollinators and animals. Sign-ups opened August 30th at 9 am and by 2:20pm all the trees were accounted for.
Tree pick ups were held Thursday, September 23rd and Saturday, September 25 at both the Rockburn Branch Park and West Friendship Park. Each tree stood between five to eight feet tall and were in five-gallon containers. Howard County Executive Calvin Ball joined the Office of Sustainability and the Department of Recreation and Parks at West Friendship Park on the 23rd and helped residents find their trees and load them into their cars.
The annual tree giveaway is one of many ways Howard County Government helps get new trees in the ground. Learn about our tree programs here.
“Since 2019, we’ve helped plant more than 50,000 trees in Howard County- one of the most effective tools to support our environment” Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said.
Trees fight climate change, save energy, tame stormwater and increase home values.
Check out pictures from the 2021 tree giveaway here and a video here. The annual tree giveaway is expected to continue in 2022. Keep your eye out in summer 2022 for updates!