If there’s anyone gung-ho about planting trees in Inverness, it’s Tim Tiedje.
Just hearing the excitement in his voice as he describes the benefits trees provide, almost makes you want to run outside, dig a hole and plant a sapling in the back yard.
“There are just so many benefits” that trees provide, said Tiedje, president of the village’s Tree and Wetland Commission. “They are just positive in every way, and any news and education I can get out there in relation to the trees and environment is good, positive news for people.”
His excitement should be contagious, though, given he is planning a variety of “surprises” to get residents involved in planting trees and learning more about their benefits.
One of these surprises, which he announced this week to the Village Board, is to give away 50 potted northwest spruces to residents on a first-come, first-serve basis. These trees will be handed out at the village’s Arbor Day celebration beginning at 4 p.m. on May 5 at the Village Hall, 1400 Baldwin Rd.
Also that day, the tree commission will present a plaque to the winner of the 1997 Arbor Day poster contest, in which youngsters throughout the village are participating.
Children attending the village’s celebration, which will commemorate the 125th anniversary of Arbor Day this year, may participate in the planting of five flowering crab trees on Village Hall property. In addition, a black locust tree will be planted.
This particular tree, Tiedje said, is a direct descendant of the tree still standing at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, where the Second Continental Congress convened in 1776.
The six trees planted that day will signify the sixth consecutive year Inverness received the Tree City USA Award, which Tiedje recently accepted on behalf of the village.
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The award is given to qualifying communities through the National Arbor Day Foundation and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
The village also is planning a program in which it will split the cost of a sugar maple with residents who wish to plant a tree this year.
Among the benefits trees provide, Tiedje said, are they can increase property values more than 15 percent; their shade can save homeowners up to 50 percent in air-conditioning costs; and wind-break trees can reduce heating bills by as much as 30 percent.
“I can’t think of anything more exciting to do with your child than getting your hands a little dirty and planting a tree in the yard,” said Tiedje. “Getting our children involved is key, because they are the future caretakers.”