Umaine to offer free tree tour Oct. 5

BANGOR – University of Maine Cooperative Extension will offer a tree tour of the Eastern Maine Native Plant Arboretum in Bangor and the University of Maine campus in Orono 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 5. The rain date is Friday, Oct. 12.

UMaine Extension Educator Marjorie Peronto will lead the tour, which will teach participants about 24 species of native trees and shrubs that are being evaluated for their use and performance in urban landscapes.

Peronto also will show participants how to identify native trees and nonnative invasive species, and discuss the use of native woody plants in the landscape.

Participants will meet in front of UM Extension’s Penobscot County office at 307 Maine Ave., Bangor

The tour is free and open to the public, but preregistration is requested. Those interested should call UM Extension’s Cumberland County office at 800-287-1471 or 780-4205 before Monday, Oct. 1.

The tour has been organized by the Maine Tree Club, an educational outreach program established by UM Extension, the Maine Forest Service and the Pine Tree State Arboretum. The club is designed to teach people of all ages how to identify the trees of Maine, how to care for trees on their property and in their community, and why trees are important to Maine, the ecosystem and the economy.