The Neponset community is the recipient of 200 free oak trees again this year, thanks to the Living Lands and Waters Organization in East Moline, Illinois. Neponset has received trees most years since 2011.
According to spokesperson Marty Golby, the organization holds a lottery in February, and trees are reserved by groups and individuals competing on-line at a specific date and time.
Trees were delivered to Neponset Grade School on Friday for students and staff, complete with planting instructions, just in time for Arbor Day. Arbor Day is dedicated to the planting of trees in order to improve the environment.
The remaining trees are available for anyone interested in giving the trees a good home. If interested, you may text or call Golby at (309) 945-7750 within the next couple of days for availability, or if you have questions. Trees will be dropped off at a specified location in Neponset, to be announced in the coming week.
Most trees are one to three feet tall, and varieties available this year are red oak and swamp white oak.
Living Lands and Waters was started in 1998 by Hampton, Ill. native Chad Pregracke, and since then have removed over ten million pounds of garbage from America’s rivers, with the help of countless volunteers. The organization has also planted millions of trees. Its motto is: “To aid in the protection, preservation, and restoration of the natural environment of the nation’s major rivers and their watersheds. To find out more, go to www.livinglandsandwaters.org.
