Alta, UT – August 2016: Join Alta Ski Area’s Environmental Center and partner TreeUtah on Saturday, September 3RD for their 7th annual tree planting. This year with the help of 100 volunteers, the partners hope to plant 1,300 native Douglas fir trees (Pseudotsuga menziesii), trees sponsored by Young Auto Group.
These 2-year-old seedlings were specially grown from seed picked in Alta by ski area employees in 2013. Every year employees will monitor Limber pine, Douglas fir and Englemann spruce trees and their available cone crop for seed collection. Once the difficult task of collecting the cones is completed, they are laid out on tables indoors to dry for weeks. When the seed is mature, Alta employees will complete the tedious task of separating the seeds from the cone. If the crop is plentiful, they may retrieve 5 to 10 pounds of seed, which usually adds up to thousands of seeds. Next, the seed is sent to a nursery to grow for one to two years to reach a healthy height of 8 to 12 inches. Lastly, these seeds return home to Alta as seedlings to be caringly planted by employees, TreeUtah and tree enthusiasts with the hopes that they will live far beyond their own years.
Rugged and rewarding, this will be a fun day to enjoy and give back to beautiful Little Cottonwood Canyon protected watershed and Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. The event will be a morning half day and includes a light breakfast sponsored by Young Auto Group and a Collins lift ride to the top where 100 volunteers will divide and conquer tree planting throughout Alta’s hardy terrain.
Event: Alta Ski Area TreeUtah Planting
Date: Saturday, September 3, 2016
Meet: Albion Base, Alta, Utah
Time: 8:00am to 1:00pm (We hope to be back to Albion Base by 12:30pm to enjoy a well-earned lunch with all).
Bring: Water bottle, sunscreen, sturdy shoes, snacks, hat, and a raincoat
Lunch: Albion Grill will be offering a special 40% lunch discount to all volunteers
Registration is required with TreeUtah (www.treeutah.org). 100 volunteer limit, must be a minimum of 14 years old, and volunteers 18 years and younger must have parental/guardian consent. Call 801.364-2122 or email volunteer@treeutah.org for more information.
A special thanks to this year’s assisting partners from Cottonwood Canyons Foundation and Friends of Alta.
---- ENDS ---
Please feel free to share and through our event website and social media links.
Registration:http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07ed24yqvw01f74d8f&llr=je78sucab
TreeUtah event page: http://treeutah.org/volunteer/upcoming-events/restoration-planting-at-alta-ski-area/
Alta Ski Area event page: www.alta.com/the-mountain/events/alta-ski-area-treeutah-tree-planting
Facebook event: www.facebook.com/events/1118786291477120/
Google+ event: https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/109696705174036587258/events/cckt3vhu93gid08h2ueps1s90mc
Twitter: We have trees to plant! #Alta @TreeUtah #AltaEnvironmentalCenter #1300trees #DouglasFir http://bit.ly/2aVYqJM - https://twitter.com/altaskiarea
Instagram: altaenvironment, www.instagram.com/altaenvironment
Captions for photos listed in order of appearance:
1. Alta Ski Area employee Annie Mattison preparing cone collection contraption
2. Alta Ski Area employee deploying cone collection contraption on a limber pine
3. Alta Ski Area employee Mandi Cook cleaning spruce seed from cones
4. A tree planting volunteer taking in the view at Alta Ski Area
5. A healthy planting of a limber pine seedling in Alta Ski Area
6. TreeUtah logo
