LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — For two decades, volunteers and city leaders in Lexington have been working to expand the city’s urban forest by planting trees through Reforest the Bluegrass.
Today, they mark the 20th anniversary of the tree-planting event with a celebration Saturday at Masterson Station Park.
One of the first Reforest the Bluegrass events took place at the park, so it’s fitting organizers and volunteers are returning to Masterson Station Park.
Over the years nearly 16,000 volunteers have planted some 136,000 tree seedlings, restoring more than 186 acres of floodplains and improving the city’s tree canopy.
Organizers were expecting about a thousand volunteers to take part Saturday.
“Behind us we see trees grown in 2000 and we’re able to see how they’ve matured, so we’ve basically created a microforest in Fayette County,” said John Saylor, program manger.
Volunteers hope to plant 7,000 seedlings on Saturday.
