Fairfield Elks plant trees in Chautauqua Park

FAIRFIELD – Fairfield Elks planted 26 trees in Chautauqua Park on the east side of Fairfield Wednesday, Oct. 9.

The trees were purchased through a grant of $2,500 from the Elks National Foundation. Oakwood Nursery in Fairfield gives the Elks a discount on the trees.

Fairfield Elks has participated in this tree-planting program for 10 years. In prior years, the club has planted trees at Waterworks Park and between the high school baseball and softball diamonds south of the middle school, where a number of ash trees have had to come out because of the emerald ash borer.

Fairfield Park & Recreation gets into the act, too, digging the holes for the trees. Bagby said Chautauqua Park has been a common location for plantings because it is losing trees to old age and the emerald ash borer faster than they can be replaced.

Doug Bagby, chairman of the Elks National Foundation for the Fairfield Lodge, said this is a Beacon grant, which must be used to benefit the community. Fairfield Elks has received other grants for community projects such as the 'Shop with a Hero” program, and a program to provide passes for underprivileged youth to use the Roosevelt Community Recreation Center.