By Debby Woodin
Globe Staff Writer
JOPLIN, Mo. —
Residents may obtain a free tree Friday when the city of Joplin and Empire District Electric Co. dedicate the new Joplin Utility Arboretum.
The event is timed to coincide with Arbor Day because of Joplin’s designation as a Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation.
The ceremony is planned for noon Friday in Landreth Park, where the arboretum has been created.
Empire District is donating the trees for the arboretum to the city.
Empire spokeswoman Julie Maus said about 40 trees have been planted in the park. The company hopes to help residents understand what varieties to plant near power lines and how to arrive at a correct planting distance from a power line.
“In addition to the aesthetic and educational value they will provide, they will reduce runoff, remove and sequester carbon from the atmosphere, and help to improve the green infrastructure in the city,” Maus said of the trees. “That aids in the city’s Tree City USA designation as well.”
The Joplin parks and recreation director, Doug Joyce, said he authorized establishment of the arboretum. He said the plantings could be used as a tree nursery to provide stock for other public properties.
He said residents also could learn the varieties of trees, and obtain an idea of the tree shapes and how large they grow by visiting the arboretum.
Additionally, the garden will provide shade in the park, Joyce said.
The importance of trees has been emphasized since ice storms in January and December 2007 damaged or destroyed a number of the Joplin area’s trees.
Falling tree limbs were a large contributor to power outages that lasted days for some. After the January 2007 ice storm, 42,000 area residents were without power.
A windstorm in May 2009 further damaged area trees.
“If we can help educate our customers on the proper planting and using the proper varieties, that is going to pay dividends in system reliability and containing costs,” Maus said.
It was as a result of the devastation from the storms that the city of Joplin applied to become a Tree City USA, which requires cities to cultivate and properly maintain their tree inventories. The city also assembled a Tree Board to recommend tree projects and placement on city property.
Empire also is celebrating its designation as a Tree Line USA utility by the Arbor Day Foundation for following the organization’s tree care standards.
Leafing out
Representatives of the Missouri Department of Conservation will attend the Arbor Day event Friday to give out information and answer questions about tree selection, pruning and care.
