Contact: NOVEC Public Relations, 1-888-335-0500, customerservice@novec.com
NORTHERN VIRGINIA ― The Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative recognized Arbor Day on April 27, 2012, by planting a white dogwood tree at Bull Run Regional Library and by giving 250 evergreen tree seedlings to the fourth grade class at Manassas Park Elementary School.
“Trees symbolize our environment,” stated Jim Moxley, NOVEC senior vice president, at the library before approximately 20 attendees. “Not only do they help clean the air by absorbing carbon dioxide and producing oxygen, but they provide a habitat for wildlife. Trees also help us save energy by breaking the force of cold winds -- lowering heating costs up to 30 percent in winter -- and reducing the need for air conditioning in summer.”
Moxley noted that the beauty of trees has a calming effect on people. He cited a Texas A&M University study that said: "In laboratory research, visual exposure to settings with trees has produced significant recovery from stress within five minutes, as indicated by changes in blood pressure and muscle tension.”
Moxley told how J. Sterling Morton organized the first tree-planting holiday on April 10, 1872, when Morton served as secretary of the Nebraska territory. Nebraskans planted an estimated one million trees.
“Morton knew trees would provide a windbreak for Nebraska’s soil, as well as fuel, shade, and building materials,” Moxley explained. Morton later became U.S. Secretary of Agriculture under President Grover Cleveland.
Moxley noted that President Richard Nixon declared in 1970 that the official national observance of Arbor Day would be the last Friday in April. Many countries observe a similar holiday.
“By supporting tree planting, NOVEC hopes everyone will gain a greater appreciation for the beauty and benefits of nature all around us,” Moxley concluded.
Officials at the ceremony included: Stella Krull, Prince William County Board of Supervisors chair assistant; Curtis Brenner, Prince William County facilities manager; Sandra Oliver, Bull Run Regional Library branch manager; and Mary Jo Rigby, member, Prince William County Public Library Board of Trustees.
Growing Kids and Trees for Virginia’s Forests
NOVEC and Virginia’s 12 other electric cooperatives – through the Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives -- provided hardwood seedlings for children to plant statewide through the Growing Kids and Trees for Virginia’s Forests program. The program encourages Virginia children to become more aware of their natural environment as they plant thousands of hardwood tree seedlings in schoolyards, parks and backyards. The 4-H, a function of the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service, conducts the annual program.
VMDAEC Executive Vice President Richard Johnstone said. “By supporting programs like Growing Kids and Trees, cooperatives continue to help sow the seeds of a better life for future generations.”
VMDAEC’s magazine Cooperative Living is featuring the tree program in its May 2012 issue. The association distributes the magazine to more than 490,000 electric cooperative consumers in Virginia 10 times a year.
