City of Hickory, Community Appearance Commission to give away trees

HICKORY, NC (September 29, 2020) — The City of Hickory and the Community Appearance Commission (CAC) will honor Arbor Day by distributing free potted trees at the Downtown Hickory Farmers Market on Saturday, October 3.

Originally bare root seedlings intended for the annual Arbor Day celebration in April, the bald cypress and silky dogwood seedlings were planted in pots by Hickory’s Landscape Services Division when the event in April was cancelled due to COVID-19.

“The Community Appearance Commission is happy to share these trees with local residents in our continued efforts to promote tree planting and preservation throughout the Hickory community,” said Cal Overby, CAC liaison and assistant planning manager for the City of Hickory.

Trees provide many benefits to the natural environment, including air quality improvement and the reduction of carbon in the atmosphere. A healthy mature tree can also increase property value; the larger the tree, the higher the value. This is especially important for resale and will increase yearly as the tree grows. All of these reasons should be an incentive to plant trees. Maintaining healthy, mature trees with proper pruning, and not topping trees, not only increases the value of a property and saves money on energy costs, it also helps provide a benefit of cleaner air and reductions in storm water problems.

Stop by the City of Hickory’s booth at the Downtown Hickory Farmers Market on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 330 Main Avenue NW (parking lot beside Lowes Foods City Park) to pick up a potted tree.