PLANT NATIVE ROOTS: Pick up a free tree at Legion Stadium this Friday and Saturday
- Shannon Rae Gentry
- 1d
- 6 min read
Updated: 20h
Having grown up in rural Mount Airy, NC, I now covet the treasures of the natural world that surrounded our single-wide trailer. Acres of trees on land that belonged to my grandfather (and his grandparents); where his three children (including my mother) grew up priming tobacco; and where they would continue to live and build lives. Grandpa and Grandma East lived and worked hard surrounded by the same wooded acres that I now set out to rediscover with my daughter when we visit.
While Grandpa died when I was 5 years old, I still fan the embers of the only memory I have of him, walking up to him while he sat in a chair in the home his grandparents built for his family. His face is harder to see now, and the memory is more of a faded still-life portrait. I can fill in some blanks with a handful of black-and-white photos (that he rarely posed for) and stories from my family; but it’s those woods and weathered paths to overgrown tobacco fields that help me feel a little more connected to our shared family history.
I am also of the “FernGully” generation, so I get why a lot of people feel so deeply connected to nature, especially trees. They can absorb and withstand generations of beauty and hardships; they groan and whisper secrets in the wind; and if we let them grow, they can tell stories to our grandchildren that we may not get the chance to.
“We all have the power — and it grows when it is shared.” - Magi Lune, “FernGully: The Last Rainforest” (1992)
Despite the reverie I have for trees and the natural world, my ignorance glares when it comes to names of species, or when to plant them, or how to help them grow and thrive. Earlier this week I shared the sentiment with Isabelle Shepherd, Executive Director of Alliance for Cape Fear Trees (ACFT), whose lifelong love of trees continues since taking on her role with the organization.
“I will say that I have learned a lot of the lingo and a lot more about native species in the last year,” she says. “So I'm starting to become expert-level, but it's been really a joy to learn and get to know our local ecology better, more intimately, and in a way, to be able to share it with others, whether that's through tree distributions or through our advocacy.”
ACFT’s next free Tree Distribution event is this Friday, Dec. 5, 12-5 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 6, at 9 a.m. (while supplies last) at Legion Stadium. In partnership with Enterprise Mobility Foundation and Arbor Day Foundation, ACFT will distribute more than 1,400 native trees to residents, with a limit of two trees per household. If trees are leftover at the end of day on Friday, the giveaway will resume on Saturday morning at 9 a.m. until all trees are taken.
As a public education resource, Shepherd assures the Alliance for Cape Fear Trees isn’t just tossing out trees left and right without context or support. “We try to work with folks to help them determine where they would like to plant a tree, what the site conditions are, what would do best, and then how to properly go about planting and caring for it,” she lists. “When people know better, they do better.”
ACFT’s website hosts myriad of tree species, including the 14 native, storm-resilient species available this Friday:
● Southern live oak (Quercus virginiana)
● Swamp chestnut oak (Quercus michauxii)
● Southern red oak (Quercus falcata)
● Tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera)
● Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris)
● American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)
● Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum)
● Red maple (Acer rubrum)
● Sweetbay magnolia (Magnolia virginiana)
● Blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica)
● Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)
● Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis)
● American hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana)
● Pawpaw (Asimina triloba)
Specifically chosen for their suitability to southeastern North Carolina’s climate and soils, folks can consult ACFT’s fact sheet (attached to this article) prior to the event for details about their maturity size, canopy style, sun requirements, water needs, growth rate, and other fun facts about each. As well, trained arborists will be onsite to help folks pick the right tree. “And you know, trees, we need more of them,” Shepherd notes. “And you don't have to be an expert to plant one in your yard. That's the beauty of it.”
If you’re thinking these colder months aren’t the time to get out for planting, think again. One of the reasons ACFT gives out trees now (and again in February) is that fall and winter are actually the best times to plant. “When you put the trees in the ground, they need time for their roots to settle, to grow, to become established,” Shepherd explains. “It's really best to do that during their dormant season, during the fall and winter, when they're not being beat down by the heat of Wilmington summers, which are only getting hotter and hotter.”
Many Wilmingtonians are well-aware of our warp-speed growth rate, as well as the toll it continues to take on our area’s alluring natural resources. Between development and climate change impact, Shepherd says the dwindling tree canopy (down to 40% covering the city) threatens essentially everything we love about living here, as well as what animals and insects need to live here.
“Some native trees are the only host plant for some native insects and things that are at the base of the food web,” Shepherd explains. So, some of the ornamentals that are planted, they’re beautiful to us, but it's not to a caterpillar or to a bird. We need to think about what is beautiful to all types of creatures, not just us humans.”
Shepherd considers the list of offerings this year, like fan favorite Southern Live Oak. Sourced from Pender Leaf Farms, these oaks come from acorns from Heritage trees of the Lower Cape Fear region, including the Airlie Oak and the iconic trees of Fort Fisher. Unmatched in its stormwater, carbon, and wildlife benefits, “it's really not just a tree. It's an entire ecosystem,” she says.
“A single Southern Live Oak can be home to thousands of organisms, from moss and fungi to insects, birds, bats, so they all make use of its branches, leaves and its cavities,” she continues. “We've got 160 of those to share.”
Got a soggy part of the yard? Snag a Bald Cypress, as it thrives in wet soils and is flood tolerant. “I think they're so pretty, especially when their leaves go red,” Shepherd notes. Black Gum is also best known for its bright fall color, as well as Red Maple. The local Longleaf Pine once dominated millions of acres, but now its population has shrunk considerably. “Any replanting of Longleaf Pines is really important for wildlife restoration.”
At the end of the day, when you look out in your yard, Shepherd encourages to look for the meaning and magic when it is alive with bugs, squirrels, birds, dragonflies, and life buzzing about trees and plants in ways that are only possible with native varieties that give back to this local ecosystem, instead of taking from it.
“So when you avoid invasives, like Mimosa trees, you're giving back to your environment in a much more meaningful way when you plant native trees,” she says, “Further, native shrubs and flowers, they all perform better here also. So you're going to have to water it less. You're going to have to take care of it less. You're probably going to have to replace it less because they are adapted to our Cape Fear region.”
If you miss the perfect native tree addition for your space this weekend, there are several local spots to pick up one later, such as Five Oaks Nursery & Tree Farm, Shelton Herb Farm, Tinga Nursery, and Penderlea Farms.
While planting a native tree can increase your home's value, and increase wildlife habitat, and mitigate stormwater pollutants, Shepherd reminds,“It's a small act that goes a really long way, and quite literally grows beyond our lifetimes.”
Details:
Free Tree Distribution Event
Presented by Alliance for Cape Fear Trees, Enterprise Mobility Foundation, and Arbor Day Foundation
Friday, Dec. 5, 12-5 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 6, 9 a.m. (while supplies last)
Legion Stadium (2149 Carolina Beach Road)