(Olympia, WA) Olympia residents and City officials will plant the city green on Saturday, March 29. ONE THOUSAND (1000!) trees will sprout along Olympia’s streets and walkways in the morning. A community celebration will be held in the afternoon at the Olympia Timberland Library.

“With our innovative NeighborWoods program and in-house tree nursery, Olympia is a national leader in municipal urban forestry,” says Olympia Mayor Doug Mah. “The community enthusiasm for our 1000 Trees in One Day event has been fantastic. As of today, over 500 community volunteers have stepped forward to help, and locations for over 1,000 new trees have been identified,” says Mah.

Saturday morning, volunteers equipped with their personal shovels and gear will gather at five logistics centers throughout Olympia. They will deploy to pre-identified planting sites throughout the city. Planting will begin at about 10:00 a.m.

In the afternoon, community members of all ages are invited to join the 1000 trees volunteers for an Arbor Day celebration on 9th Avenue behind the Olympia Timberland Library. The library is located at 313 – 8th Avenue SE in downtown Olympia.

“Timberland Regional Library is delighted to join in this community wide celebration,” says Jodi Reng, Timberland’s Executive Director. “This inspiring project will improve the quality of life in Olympia’s neighborhoods for many decades to come.”

The celebration will feature music performed by Collective Love Unlimited; a ceremonial program; youth activities including a Jack and the Beanstalk rap, stories, string bean guessing jar, and a flower craft; and a library prize drawing. Cake will provided by the Friends of the Olympia Timberland Library.

Arbor Day & 1000 Trees Celebration Schedule:

• 12:30 & 2:00 p.m. - Music by the Collective Love Unlimited band
• 1:20 p.m. - Arbor Day Ceremony & Jay Butts Friends of Trees Awards
• 2:30 p.m. - Cake and story time program
• 3:30 p.m. - Drop-in Crafts
• All afternoon inside the library: Prizes and entry forms.

For information, call the City of Olympia Urban Forestry hotline, (360) 753-4444, ext 3810.

Download flyer (pdf)