To mark the start of tree-planting season in Tennessee, the Crossville Tree Board will again celebrate Arbor Day with a tree giveaway. This year’s giveaway will be Friday, March 1 at the Turner Field parking lot in Centennial Park.

The festivities start at 9 a.m. with the reading of a proclamation by Crossville Mayor James Mayberry, commemorating Crossville’s “Tree City USA” designation for the nineteenth straight year.

Tree Board members and volunteers from the Cumberland County Master Gardeners Association will then distribute 17 different species of tree seedlings to the public, along with information sheets containing useful tree-planting tips.

Organizers expect approximately 150 people to attend, and the seedlings will be given out on a first-come, first-serve basis. The seedlings are generally all claimed by about 10:15, so arrive early for best selection.

This year’s tree species offerings include:

• Bald Cypress
• Beautyberry
• Blackgum
• Cherry, Black
• Chestnut, Hybrid
• Crab Apple, Southern
• Dogwood, Flowering
• Indigobush
• Oak (Water, White and Willow)
• Pawpaw
• Pecan, Native Sweet
• Pine, Shortleaf
• Plum, American
• Redbud
• Sweetgum

Trees not only add beauty to a home’s landscape – with bright spring blooms and colorful foliage in the fall – but they add value to properties by increasing shade (and lowering utility bills) and providing both food and shelter for wildlife.