April 12, 2005
For immediate release | William J. Kovacic
(859) 260-8402 |
Kingdom Come Elementary School students will plant American chestnut trees on reclaimed mine site to celebrate Arbor Day
Media Advisory
Kingdom Come Elementary students will join federal and Kentucky officials and University of Kentucky faculty to plant American chestnut trees on reclaimed mine land in celebration of Arbor Day and a new partnership working for reforestation in Appalachia.
The reclaimed site, near Myra, Kentucky, is a reclaimed mine site operated by Premier Elkhorn Coal Company. Twenty-six children from the smallest public school in Kentucky, Kingdom Come Elementary School, will plant six American chestnut and twenty wild plum trees.
The American chestnut tree was once a prominent species in the eastern half of the United States. In the 1930's it was attacked by fungus that nearly took it to extinction. The American Chestnut Foundation is working to bring it back.
All ninety-one students from the school are participating in a poster and essay contest entitled "Why plant trees on surface mines?" The winners will display their posters and read their essays at the Arbor Day event.
Prior to tree planting, U.S. Forest Service staff will demonstrate proper tree planting techniques. Premier Elkhorn Coal Company is hosting the event.
The event will also provide a forum for new Kentucky partners to join the Appalachian Regional Reforestation Initiative (ARRI) by pledging to promote productive forestland during the reclamation of abandoned and active coal mining sites. ARRI is an initiative to promote the planting of high-value hardwood trees on reclaimed mine lands in Appalachia and to increase the survival and growth rates of those trees.
News reporters are invited to attend.
Directions to the Site: From the Tri-Cities airport in eastern Tennessee take Interstate 81 South to State Route 23. Go north on Route 23 to the intersection of State Route 119, south of Jenkins, Kentucky. Take Route 119 North to the mine site on Highway 610. The mine site is in Letcher County, Kentucky.
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