The city of Oxford and Oxford College will have its annual Arbor Day Celebration on Saturday. Feb. 17 from 10 a.m. to Noon at Oxford city hall. 

The public is invited to attend.

Oxford has participated in the Arbor Day Foundations Tree City USA program for 27 years and Oxford College has been in the Tree Campus USA program for 10 years. The city and college partner each year to have a community Arbor Day event sponsored by Oxford Trees, Parks, and Recreation Board and Oxford College.

Mayor David Eady will be presenting the annual Arbor Day proclamation and, this year, Georgia Forestry Commission Community Forester, Lea Clark will be presenting the city and college with the recognition materials for participating in the Tree City and Tree Campus programs.

Students from Cousins Middle School will recite a poem. Refreshments will be provided by Oxford College.

Attendees will also receive a Redbud seedling provided by Charlotte Johnson. 

“Johnson, a Covington resident, has sponsored tree seedlings to give out at local community Arbor Day events for many years starting when she was Conservation Leader with the Service Guild of Covington and she has continued to sponsor Arbor Day seedlings every year since her retirement from the Service Guild,” a press release stated, 

The seedlings are free to attendees while supplies last.

Oxford was also recently awarded a Georgia ReLeaf Grant and a Trees Across Georgia (TAG) Grant from the Georgia Tree Council and Georgia Forestry Commission. These grant projects will be highlighted as part of the program. 

City arborist Beryl Budd will discuss the tree planting project recently completed in the Longstreet Circle subdivision. The TAG Grant will be discussed by members of Reforest Atlanta, the Company selected to remove invasive species along the Oxford Greenway. 

Michael Cowan and Kate Carson, Reforest Atlanta, will also lead a voluntary educational nature walk along the trail in Oxford behind Old Church focusing on invasive species.