Annual Arbor Day Tree Giveaway Jan. 20!

The Louisiana Forestry Association is celebrating Arbor Day by giving away 1,000 seedlings on Friday, Jan. 20. Trees given away this year will be the Bald Cypress, Chinkapin Oak, Shumard Oak, Willow Oak and Pecan.

Folks can drive through the parking area of the LFA office at 2316 S. MacArthur Drive in Alexandria beginning at 7:30 a.m.

“This is the best time of year to plant trees in Louisiana, which is why we celebrate Arbor Day here on the third Friday of January,” said. C.A. “Buck” Vandersteen, executive director of the Louisiana Forestry Association. “We’re excited that we have five different species of seedings to give away this year.”

Louisiana has almost 15 million acres of forests across the state, which is about half of the state’s land mass. Forest products from trees har

More than 15 million acres of forests are spread across Louisiana, about half of the state’s land mass. Products from the forest account for about $11 billion to the state’s economy each year — it’s Louisiana’s No. 1 crop! And just like field crops, trees are replanted after being harvested, about 73 million seedlings throughout the state every year. That’s roughly 19 trees for every person living in Louisiana.

The drive-through tree giveaway is limited to the supply of 1,000 trees, provided by ArborGen SuperTree Nursery. So, once they’re gone, they’re gone.

The Bald Cypress is Louisiana’s state tree! It can be a large tree but is slow growing. The Chinkapin Oak is a medium-sized oak with glistening dark green leaves in summer that turn yellow-orange in the fall. The Shumard Oak grows to about 40-60 feet and makes a great shade tree with broad-reaching branches and its leaves offer beautiful colors in the fall. The Willow Oak has more willow-shaped leaves that is a fast-growing, medium-sized oak tree. The pecan also is somewhat iconic in Louisiana. It can be a large tree and takes about six years before starting to bear pecans.

Arbor Day began in Nebraska in 1872 and is celebrated nationwide as an annual tree-planting day to foster the ideals of conservation so that our forests will always be plentiful.

The Louisiana Forestry Association has offered seedings during its annual giveaway for the public since 2004 as a way of celebrating Arbor Day, the third Friday in January in Louisiana, and promoting the benefits of trees.

The Louisiana Forestry Association is a group of 4,000 members that includes forest landowners, foresters, loggers and others employed in the forest products industry. LFA’s mission is to further the practice of sustainable forestry.

At the Louisiana Forestry Association, we’re minding the forest for you!