Arbor Day celebration aims to inspire Louisville youth

Kids climb trees at TreeFest with the organization Arb Werks. The TreesLouisville president and executive director, Cindi Sullivan, said that the activity was meant to encourage the younger population in urban areas to engage with nature and trees.

LOUISVILLE ー In a celebration of Arbor Day, TreesLouisville and Louisville Metro Parks and Recreation partnered to put on TreeFest in Petersburg Park on April 19.

For non-profit TreesLouisville, putting on events like TreeFest is about bringing the community together and giving kids in the city the opportunity to engage with nature and trees, according to the group’s president and executive director, Cindi Sullivan.

“It's really trying to get kids, particularly urban kids, exposed to the benefits of urban forestry,” Sullivan said, “We want more people to be able to enjoy the same things that we do.”

Erin Burke, communication director for the city’s parks and recreation department, said they are looking to get the community excited about Arbor Day, learn about the city’s tree canopy and get people out into the parks and enjoying nature.

In honor of the celebration, Louisville Metro offered free trees to those at the event. City worker Bryan Miller was working to hand out the trees at the event, helping folks get exactly what trees they wanted.

Miller said they started with 500 trees to give away, and an hour before the end of the event they had merely 30 or 40 trees left.

Tens of booths gathered at Petersburg Park on April 19th in celebration of Arbor Day. The event was hosted by TreesLouisville and Louisville Metro’s Parks and Recreation Department. The festivities included interactive activities, booths with information on various organizations, and free trees.

Tens of booths gathered at Petersburg Park on April 19th in celebration of Arbor Day. The event was hosted by TreesLouisville and Louisville Metro’s Parks and Recreation Department. The festivities included interactive activities, booths with information on various organizations, and free trees.

Though it may not have been a main driving factor, Burke said she hopes that events such as TreeFest hold space for grassroots organizations, like TreesLouisville, to engage with the community and reach a larger audience.

TreesLouisville sets out to improve the health and quality of life for the current and future community by creating a robust tree canopy in the city.

Looking to engage the young community, TreeFest offered tree climbing for kids and other activities to learn about trees and caring for the environment in fun, interactive ways.

“Our horticulture industry is, unfortunately, Caucasian, male-dominated, and one of our goals is to expose young people, at a very early age, to the pleasures of dealing with trees,” Sullivan said.

The tree climbing was facilitated by Arb Werks, a professional arborist company that helped the kids climb in urban trees using proper safety equipment.

Louisville ECHOmobile was also present at the event, allowing kids to play in nature with activities such as playing with natural musical instruments and building shelters.

The program is a part of the West Louisville Outdoor Recreation Initiative, which provides access to nature for youth in West and South Louisville.

Groups of all focuses attended the event, including grassroots organization Louisville Grows, a non-profit that offers reforestation services in neighborhoods in the Louisville community.

Even though there are many different environmental-focused organizations in Kentucky, Louisville Grows’ urban forestry manager, Colin Meadows, said that there is some overlap, but it allows them to all work together.

“It's good to see that everybody's very connected within all the different organizations,” Meadows said.