Arbor Day Organizers Need Tree Planters, Adoptions

For decades, Joan Stevens and the Greenfield Beautification Committee has worked countless hours making the city a better place to live.

Whether it’s through the committee’s annual Arbor Day celebration, or through its Clean-Up Green-Up litter-collecting event, nearly every park, school and other public buildings have been “spruced” up by the committee’s volunteer efforts.

And this year, Stevens and the committee could use a little help themselves.

There are still a handful of trees needing to be “adopted” for Saturday’s Arbor Day event, which will take place at Konkel Park’s new south pavilion at 10 a.m. (registration is at 9:30 a.m.)

The memorial trees are $195. A total of 35 of them will be planted Saturday, and if you can’t afford to adopt a tree, Stevens would be just as thrilled to accept your donated elbow grease.

“A lot of times, older people buy a tree and they can’t plant it,” Stevens said. “We need people to plant, and for those who’ve never planted a tree, the forester will give a demonstration.”

The south pavilion at Konkel Park was erected last fall. The area also has a playground and parking lot.

“It’s all set, all except for the landscaping,” Stevens said. “Once we put in the landscaping, it will be ready to go.”

The annual Arbor Day celebration has been a part of Greenfield’s rich history since 1991. Since then, parks, boulevards, schools and other public buildings have benefited from the event.

The Greenfield Beautification Committee has chosen Konkel Park for its Arbor Day celebration four previous times.

“We’ve pretty much transformed the city with those Arbor Days,” Stevens said. “I think it’s a beautiful thing to bring the community together.

“It’s fun to see everyone there and working together. It makes my heart feel good.”

After Arbor Day, the committee’s next big event is Clean-Up, Green-Up. Stevens said more than 2,600 volunteers have already signed up to pick up litter and trash throughout the city, though some areas – Lavies Park, the City Hall campus, Wildcat Creek and Honey Bear Park – are in need of some makeshift garbage collectors.

Volunteers receive a free litter bags and coupons for attractions such as the Milwaukee County zoo or county pools.

Registration is from 9-10:30 a.m. at Konkel Park. Volunteers are to stop in there to receive their bags and then head out to their various assignments.

“That’s a wonderful program,” Stevens said. “We’ve been doing that for 22 years. That’s why Greenfield is so clean, compared to the roadside.”

For more information on how to adopt a tree, call Stevens at 414-545-3381 or send a check for $195 (or any other monetary contribution) to the Greenfield Beautification Committee, 4919 S. 40th St., Greenfield, WI 53221. Make checks payable to Greenfield Beautification Fund.