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HONOLULU (KHON2) – In Hawaii, Arbor Day is celebrated on the first Friday in November.

But throughout this month, there are still tree and plant giveaways scheduled that will allow you to take home some plants and some trees for free to take advantage of.

The next round of giveaways will be this weekend, this particular Saturday here in Mānoa Valley.

So, to find out more about that, we’re here at the back of Mānoa at Lyon Arboretum with Horticulture Manager Tim Kroessig.

First, tell us what Arbor Day is all about.

“Arbor Day is about celebrating trees and the life that trees provide to organisms, as well as the benefits they provide to us as humans,” says Kroessig.

So every year we do this, or every year we help organizations like you grow trees and really take care of them by giving them, the people and the public, the opportunity to take them home.

How long does it take, this round I hear is about 1000 trees, how long does it take to prepare?

“Well, it all depends on the tree, but on average it takes 6 to 8 months to propagate, establish, and have them ready to go home with the lucky residents of Hawaii,” says Kroessig.

So if people take them home and take advantage of this free gift, what are some of the benefits of planting trees, whether it’s at home or in our office or what have you?

“There are many benefits to having trees in your life,” says Kroessig.

“They provide shade, so they help keep your garden nice and cool on those hot summer days, they provide us with nice, clean air and oxygen to breathe, they provide us with habitat for other animals and birds, and various things that use the ‘tree. , and then they also provide us with food. There are many fruit trees, there are medicinal trees, so there are a variety of different benefits that trees give us in our daily lives and having one and carrying one at home and having them in your garden, you bring them even closer to yourself,” says Kroessig.

I think when we think about bringing trees home, we have to have a house, we have to have a yard.

But what if someone lives in an apartment?

How do they have the opportunity to care for the trees?

“Well, it’s about choosing the tree,” says Kroessig.

“There are some trees that can survive and live out their lives in a nice big pot, but we also have a variety of plant materials that most of our Arbor Day gifts aren’t just limited to trees. For so we want everyone, from someone who lives in an apartment to someone who has a nice big garden, to be able to bring a plant home and enjoy it in their personal living space and get these benefits from these plants” .

What are just some of the trees people can expect this weekend?

“Some of the trees we have worked hard to grow include too trees, grow up or breadfruit trees, we actually have some cacao or chocolate trees, and a variety of other trees that grow shade, fruit trees,” says Kroessig.

Kroessig continues: “We have avocados, we have in other words that is plants and many other things people can expect to see at the gift of trees here in Mānoa Valley.

So again, in honor of Arbor Day, more than 1,000 fruit plants to ornamental trees and shrubs are available for free on a first-come, first-served basis.

So you should know it’s this Saturday, November 12th from 8-11am right here in Mānoa at the UH President’s House, also known as College Hill.

For all the information, click here.