Tree giveaway in Washington planned Saturday morning

The Washington Tree Committee plans to hand out 120 trees at its annual tree giveaway this weekend, returning the event to the square in Washington after years at the fairgrounds to accommodate social distancing.

“This is the first year in a couple of years that we will be back downtown,” Tree Committee Chair Marde McConnell said. “We are excited to be back downtown, and letting people appreciate our pretty square with its trees.”

This year’s selection includes a wide variety of the plants, for those in line early enough to get their pick.

“We always try to have some smaller, more kind of ornamental trees, some medium size trees, and then some really large trees,” McConnell said. “We started adding, a few years ago, a fruit tree, so this year’s fruit tree is a Fuji apple tree.”

The giveaway starts promptly at 8 a.m., with trees given out on a first-come, first-served basis. McConnell warned that latecomers seldom acquired the plants.

“Over the years, people start lining up at 7 or 7:30 if they have a specific tree that they really, really want,” she said. “Usually we start at 8 and we are cleaned up and out of there by 8:20. We’ve had people that show up at 8:30.”

Those in line early also get an educational lesson from Andy Dahl, a Tree Committee member and professional arborist.

“He talks about how to plant the trees properly and answers people’s questions,” McConnell said. “When we were out at the fairgrounds to make sure it felt very safe, and we were distanced, we did not have that educational component … we think that’s an important part of it all.”

McConnell said the giveaway was a rewarding experience every year.

“I love knowing that all these people in line care about trees as much as we do,” she said. “We have lots of repeat people, they come and say, ‘You won’t believe the tree that I got 10 years ago,’ because we’ve been doing this over 30 years.”

While the trees are free to all, McConnell urged planters to contact Iowa One Call before they dig. The number to do so is 1-800-292-8989.

“You just tell them where you’re going to plant, and then they call the appropriate utilities to make sure that you don’t hit a gas line or an electrical line or, heaven forbid, a fiber-optic cable,” she said.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com