Blue Springs, Mo. – The Blue Springs Parks & Recreation Department will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Saturday, April 23 for the new Arbor Walk located in Rotary Park at Railroad Lake. The ceremony begins at 11 a.m. and will be held at shelter house #1 located near park’s parking lot located at 600 NW Vesper in Blue Springs. Festivities will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and include Bur Oak sapling samples, tree care information packets and tour of the Arbor Walk with a certified arborist immediately following the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
In addition to the Arbor Walk dedication, there will also be a “Tree-Ching” campaign that includes hanging "price tags" on trees at Rotary Park to reflect how much air pollution and carbon dioxide content can be reduced by a single tree. The “price tag” signs will show a monetary value using the National Tree Benefit Calculator of the annual net benefits that each tree provides.
“Most people know that trees absorb stormwater and filter carbon dioxide, but most people are unaware of all the other benefits like improved property value and lower energy costs,” said Roscoe Righter, Director of Blue Springs Parks & Recreation. “When you examine individual trees and put a physical “price tag” on them, it builds awareness of just how much money trees save us every year. We hope that through this campaign we can impart a sense of communal value of trees in an urban setting.”
The Arbor Walk was made possible through a Tree Resource Improvement and Maintenance (TRIM) Grant by the Missouri Department of Conservation and Eagle Scout projects from Scout Troops #58, #332 and #546.
Through this grant, 13 new trees have been planted and staff has identified 27 unique and common trees within the park. The Arbor Walk contains 40 trees that have been marked with signs that identify their species, form, foliage, fruit and culture.
Blue Springs has been recognized for the past 21 years by the National Arbor Day Foundation as a TREE CITY USA, which recognizes communities that effectively manage their urban forest and meet four TREE CITY USA standards. The standards including having a tree governing body; maintaining a comprehensive community forestry program that spends at least $2 per capita on the urban forest; maintaining a tree care ordinance; and holding an annual celebration related to Arbor Day.
For more information on Arbor Walk, contact Roscoe Righter, Director of Parks and Recreation at (816) 228-0137 or email to rrighter@bluespringsgov.com.
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