The Town of Montreat is hosting its second Arbor Day celebration as part of its fourth annual Native Plant Sale this Saturday, April 30th from 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at Moore Center Field. The sale is organized by the Montreat Landcare Committee with help from Montreat College and promises food truck, fun, music and more!
Presentations on National Wildlife Federation’s Trees for Wildlife programs, Tree Planting and Pruning, Fire Wise, Forests of Southern Appalachia, and the Hemlock Restoration Initiative will take place in the bottom of the Moore Center from 9am to 1:30pm.
In addition to the plant sale and professional workshops/presentations, there will be a variety of displays and question-and-answer tables. Margot Wallston, Coordinator of the Hemlock Restoration Initiative will be leading a hemlock hike at 1:30.
Montreat is a town of about 700 residents in the western highlands of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. It also hosts a large conference center of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and a small liberal arts college. A majority of the land is maintained in a forest conservation trust. Montreat is a popular place for outdoor activities, especially hiking. It has been designated as a Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundtion and a Community Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.
In 2015, Montreat received an award from the Hemlock Restoration Initiative to advance their efforts to integrate biological and chemical control of HWA. They used the funds to create a permanent educational display focusing on hemlocks, installed at the town post office and to chemically re-treat many trees that were falling out of protection, as well as two stands of Carolina hemlock that had never before been treated.
Town Administrator, Ron Nalley, and Montreat College Professor, Dottie Shuman, stand by newly installed sign
They matched the award with funds they raised as a community to release over 1,000 HWA-predator beetles throughout the town’s central corridor. An additional 500 beetles, acquired by Buncombe County, were released on two additional Carolina hemlock stands on the conserved land surrounding the town.
We applaud their attention and dedication to their trees and their investment in sustainable, long-term management of their natural resources!
Please come out to show your support!