Nearly 800 trees planted on Arbor Day in Marion as part of derecho recovery efforts

Marion, Iowa – On Friday, dozens of volunteers helped plant almost 800 trees at Wanatee Park in Marion to commemorate Arbor Day.

The derecho that occurred in August 2020 caused significant damage to a large portion of the park. Some of the trees that were destroyed during the derecho in August 2020 were almost 200 years old, and the event’s organizers estimate that it will take years to restore the canopy.

The Linn County Conservation Department has salvaged 300 acres of trees in that area during the previous two years. A grant from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources provided funding for the project.

Five different types of oak that are native to Iowa were planted by volunteers.

“The oak species is used by a bunch of different animals. a lot of insects, turkey, deer, squirrels, all kinds of things use oak. The better the diversity, the better diversity there is for wildlife. It is important to get that back. Especially the oak and hickory components, which are hard to do,” said Linn County Conservation Natural Resource Manager Dana Kellogg.