Youth and volunteers are ready to plant a grouping of 25 oak trees at the K-12 School, location in Albion with the goal of tackling global issues at the local level.
Illinois once held 14 million acres of trees, but that number has dropped to 5 million due to modern development practices, Illinois 4-H is helping to turn the tide. More trees will move us closer to cleaner water, healthier soils, more animals and birds, greater biological diversity, and cleaner air. All of these are critical to people’s health and quality of life. These 25 tree savannas will help rebuild our native ecosystems, ¾ of an acre at a time.
Edwards County 4-H was one of 31 counties selected to receive the oak trees to plant on public properties in the county. The groups called savannas, will bring new life to oak-hickory forests currently under threat in Illinois.
This program is in collaboration with Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts across the state. Edwards County Soil and Water is working with the 4-H program in Edwards County to complete this project.
The 4-H Green Communities Tree Program follows the “learn-by-doing” philosophy of 4-H and is guided by the priorities of the Illinois Forest Action Plan.
Planting of the oak trees will begin at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, April 15.