Arbor Day & Arkansas ReLeaf Projects

Benefiting Arkansas Communities

State, regional and local representatives participated in the 2019 Arbor Day Celebration at the Governor’s Mansion. Governor Asa Hutchinson and First Lady Susan Hutchinson helped plant a rare Stern’s Medlar tree on the grounds of the Governor’s Mansion.

Theo Witsell, Chief of Research and Inventory with the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, provided information about the Stern’s Medlar tree we planted on the mansion grounds as part of the ceremony. This rare, endemic small tree is only known to grow in the wild on a single 22 acre site, Konecny Grove Natural Area in the Grand Prairie region of eastern Arkansas, where about 25 plants are present. The Stern’s Medlar is a lovely multi-stemmed tree in the rose family that is covered in quarter-sized white flowers during April to May. We chose the Stern’s Medlar to encourage the planting of native trees and shrubs as part of the urban landscape.

The 2020 Arkansas ReLeaf was held in Jonesboro Arkansas on November 7.   Shade trees were given to area residents to replace trees lost due to environmental damage caused by tornadoes.

Arkansas ReLeaf is planned and coordinated with individual communities and may be used for tree plantings on public lands, environmental stewardship and tree education programs in the public schools, as well as to render assistance to communities for participating in the Tree City USA Program.

The project is made possible by donations from local, state, regional, private and public entities. Additional support is provided by fundraising events conducted by the AUFC. Communities that have benefited from the Arkansas ReLeaf project include Arkadelphia, Cherry Hill, Clarksville, Clinton, Dumas, Higginson, Jonesboro, Marmaduke, Mayflower, Mena, Nashville, Scotland, Redfield, and  Vilonia.