Arbor Day celebrated at Jones State Forest

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas - Arbor Day was celebrated in the Jones State Forest April 2, with hundreds of families participating in a day of activities including an official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Texas Wildlife & Woodland EXPO.

Over 2,000 seedling containers and bare root seedlings were handed out to attendees along with information from the Society of American Foresters and International Society of Arboriculture arborists, who provided expert advice on tree selection, planting, and care and maintenance.

The Texas A&M Forest Service's Diversity Community & Urban Outreach team did ‘Plant an acorn... grow your future’ at their booth.

“A fantastic turnout with over 600 acorns finding a new home,” said John Warner of the Texas A&M Forest Service.

The Chikawa Aztec group was on hand to perform traditional dances of their culture. See photo gallery at ChikawAztec Performance

Also see Arbor Day photo gallery.

In other news...the Heartwood Chapter Texas Master Naturalist's monthly chapter meeting is will be Wednesday, April 6, and will feature Sensational Spiders from Heartwood member Sherry Summerlin, accompanied by Tia the Tarantula. Meeting time is 6:00 p.m. Refreshments will be served beforehand. The meeting will be held at the Jones State Forest classroom building located at 1328 FM 1488, one mile west of I-45. Call chapter president, Andre Houser, at 972-978-1769, for more information about directions.

Also, nesting areas for the red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW) are closed to the public until July 15. Areas have been marked with signage with direction arrows pointing visitors to alternative trails and pathways. Viewing of the red-cockaded woodpecker must be from outside the restricted area. For any questions call 936-273-2261 during business hours, or email JonesStateForest@tfs.tamu.edu

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