Knoxville Dogwood Arts Festival Announces Major Tree-planting Program
The Knoxville Dogwood Arts Festival has launched "Bazillion Blooms," a dogwood tree planting effort to restore East Tennessee's much-loved tree. The three year dogwood tree restoration effort will help to beautify Knox and surrounding counties and improve the environment.
Knoxville, TN, February 23, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Dogwood Arts Festival officials today announced ambitious plans for a community-wide tree-planting program to produce a "bazillion" dogwood blooms in the next three years. Amidst a crowd of garden enthusiasts at the annual House & Garden Show, Lisa Duncan, Dogwood Arts executive director, officially launched "Bazillion Blooms," a major effort to plant disease-resistant, April-blooming dogwood trees in Knox and surrounding counties.
"This is one of a bazillion blooms that we need to bring back East Tennessee's much-loved dogwood," Duncan said as she placed the first symbolic dogwood bloom on a dormant tree. At the show, donations of $5 per bloom were promoted to raise funds to purchase dogwoods.
"The dogwood tree is vital to East Tennessee's economy, environmental health and heritage," she said. "The tree is a source of community pride and tradition."
Duncan said the goal of Bazillion Blooms is to restore dogwoods to their former vitality in Knox and surrounding counties.
Over the years, local dogwood tree populations have dwindled due to disease, construction and development, and neglect. The Dogwood Arts' Bazillion Blooms aims to reverse that trend through a multifaceted effort that will involve raising community awareness of care and protection of dogwoods, supporting neighborhoods and individuals who plant trees and spearheading large-scale tree plantings.
Bazillion Blooms is a collaborative effort between many organizations and volunteers. The Dogwood Arts Festival is working in partnership with the City of Knoxville, Knox County, UT Agricultural Department, state and local government agencies, local businesses and community organizations.
Dogwood tree sales in partnership with local retailers and garden centers will be announced later in the year as part of the Bazillion Blooms fall planting program. Dec. 5 is the official Bazillion Blooms dogwood-tree-planting day for 2009.
For more information about the effort or how to get involved, contact the Dogwood Arts office at 637-4561.
For more information, visit www.bazillionblooms.com
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"This is one of a bazillion blooms that we need to bring back East Tennessee's much-loved dogwood," Duncan said as she placed the first symbolic dogwood bloom on a dormant tree. At the show, donations of $5 per bloom were promoted to raise funds to purchase dogwoods.
"The dogwood tree is vital to East Tennessee's economy, environmental health and heritage," she said. "The tree is a source of community pride and tradition."
Duncan said the goal of Bazillion Blooms is to restore dogwoods to their former vitality in Knox and surrounding counties.
Over the years, local dogwood tree populations have dwindled due to disease, construction and development, and neglect. The Dogwood Arts' Bazillion Blooms aims to reverse that trend through a multifaceted effort that will involve raising community awareness of care and protection of dogwoods, supporting neighborhoods and individuals who plant trees and spearheading large-scale tree plantings.
Bazillion Blooms is a collaborative effort between many organizations and volunteers. The Dogwood Arts Festival is working in partnership with the City of Knoxville, Knox County, UT Agricultural Department, state and local government agencies, local businesses and community organizations.
Dogwood tree sales in partnership with local retailers and garden centers will be announced later in the year as part of the Bazillion Blooms fall planting program. Dec. 5 is the official Bazillion Blooms dogwood-tree-planting day for 2009.
For more information about the effort or how to get involved, contact the Dogwood Arts office at 637-4561.
For more information, visit www.bazillionblooms.com
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Contact
Bazillion Blooms
Lisa Duncan
865/637-4561
www.bazillionblooms.com
Lisa Duncan
865/637-4561
www.bazillionblooms.com
Contact
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