Arbor Day is celebrated a little earlier in the year in the Magnolia State. Singing River Electric Right-of-Way Coordinator Nick Greer celebrated the state holiday on February 11th by gifting live oaks to the City of Pascagoula for I.G. Levy Park and decorative trees to the City of Leakesville. He also spoke to attendees at the Lucedale Arbor Day event that SRE helped sponsor.
Mississippi has celebrated Arbor Day in February since 1926. This is due to our state’s late winter and that being the best time to plant trees in our region. Planting in February greatly increases the survival rate of the young trees and allows them to establish a good root system before the heat of summer.
It is important to know where to plant trees and not just when, states Greer. Always look up when planting a tree. Consider the full height of a tree when planning. This consideration for electric safety will ensure the tree retains its full space to grow safely in a community.
“It’s my job to make a difference one tree at a time,” said Greer. “Whether that is overseeing right-of-way crews that trim trees in our communities for safety or giving back and donating trees to impact local conservation.”
Singing River Electric has an 83-year heritage of providing safe, reliable and affordable electricity to our local communities where we call home. SRE serves more than 76,600 meters across 7,556 miles of power lines in seven counties in Mississippi (Jackson, George, Greene, Perry, Stone, Wayne and Harrison) and two counties in Alabama (Mobile and Washington). The electric distribution cooperative works with Cooperative Energy to provide its members a diverse mix of generation resources including five small-scale solar sites locally and a 540-acre solar site in Lamar County. For more information, follow our conversations on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.