Steve Parker has a passion for trees ? and hopes a new arboretum will inspire path wanderers to take notice of the leafy canopy.
“It?s all about education and raising the consciousness of the impact each of us has on the environment,” said Parker, a member of the Howard County Forestry Board and a tree maintenance “lover” ? or supervisor ? with the county?s Department of Public Works.
From cherry trees to yellow buckeyes to birches, more than 30 trees have been identified and labeled for the newest of the county?s arboretums in Wilde Lake.
On Friday, officials will unveil the Columbia arboretum, a partnership between the county, the forestry board and the Columbia Association.
This is the county?s seventh arboretum, four of which are larger and the otherstucked into small residential parks.
The county?s arboretums are unique in that they have no walls, boundaries or admission, Parker said.
“We take existing parks and identify the trees,” he said.
The effort started about eight years ago with small plastic signs hung on fishing line, Parker said. Now, the trees are labeled with larger, more permanent signs on posts around the lake that tell onlookers about the tree and how to identify it.
About 10 years ago, Forestry Board member Jim Rose, whom Parker called the mastermind behind the arboretums, decided to teach himself the tree names, but found that without signs it was a tough task. From this, the idea for arboretums was born.
Wilde Lake sees plenty of foot traffic in Columbia?s pathways system, said Jan Clark, a landscape architect in the Columbia Association?s open space management division.
“The goal is to educate people about the environment and enhance their visit to our parks,” she said.
