Your News and Notes - March

Mark your calendar for Kentucky State Arbor Day, Saturday, April 7. This year, four Highlands neighborhood associations, along with individuals, community businesses and metro council members Tom Owen and Tina Ward-Pugh, are partnering with the United Nations Environment Programme-sponsored campaign ‘’Plant for the Planet!’’ to give away 1,500 trees to those pledging to plant and nurse the seedlings to adulthood. The annual tree giveaway is part of a global effort to reverse deforestation of the planet and to slow global warming and climate change. 

 

The 12- to 24-inch, bare-root seedlings to be given away include both canopy and understory trees. The understory species include gray dogwood (8-16 feet tall), hazelnut (8-12 feet tall) and Washington hawthorn (grows to 30 feet).

 

The canopy species, which can reach 70 to 120 feet when mature, include white pine, black cherry, black oak, Schumard oak, swamp white oak, white oak, persimmon, yellow-poplar, sycamore and black walnut.

 

The Douglass Community Center, located at 2305 Douglass Blvd., is the site of the joint Highlands tree giveaway. The event takes place from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (or later), rain or shine. Parking is adjacent to the Metro Police 5th Division substation and along Douglass Boulevard. The event offers wrapped trees, light refreshments and plenty of information from master gardeners of the Jefferson County Cooperative Extension Service, UK College of Agriculture, as well as expert advice from a forest ranger, arborists, tree huggers and area naturalists. 

 

Stephen Spanyer, the local organizer of Plant for the Planet! since 2007, is spearheading the 2012 Arbor Day event. Since 2007, the UNEP Billion Tree Campaign – now the Plant for the Planet Foundation -– has seen over 13.6 billion trees planted globally, and the local tree giveaway has grown from 300 seedlings in 2007 to some 5,750 seedlings handed out since then. This translates into a large variety of trees and more community involvement. 

 

The tree giveaway continues to aid canopy recovery following the losses from the hurricane Ike windstorm and the 2009 ice storm. About 1,590 trees have benefited Highlands zip code 40205 over the last five years, with the balance planted throughout the city and nearby counties by homeowners, and extras planted in metro parks by volunteers from the Olmsted Parks Conservancy. 

 

For more information, visit www.highlandsarborday.info or contact Stephen Spanyer at (502) 459-1405 orThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

 

Orders are now being taken for memorial paver stones to be placed within Hal Warheim Park. The purchase of a Hal Warheim Memorial Paver Stone is a unique way to commemorate a friend, family member or special occasion, while helping to preserve the diminutive park, located at 1832 Overlook Terrace in the Belknap neighborhood.

 

The paver stones are inscribed as directed and installed in the park’s pavilion each spring. Proceeds go toward park maintenance and improvements. Warheim Park is supported solely by donations, grants and the work of volunteers. This year, the park hopes to meet its goal of 20 new paver stones. 

 

The cost of one paver stone is a tax-deductible contribution of $100. Orders must be received by April 15, 2012, for installation this year. 

 

For more information, or to obtain a donor card, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . A donor card may also be downloaded at www.warheimpark.com. 

 

The Cave Hill Heritage Foundation has announced its third annual photography contest, The Views of Cave Hill Cemetery. The contest, which began in February and ends in September, is an opportunity for the community to become engaged in photographically recording the beauty of the cemetery. 

 

The winning photographs will be included in a calendar produced by the foundation and sold at the cemetery’s main office and at area businesses. Each of the 12 winners will receive gift certificates to local businesses and free admission to area attractions. 

 

The contest is open to all ages, and is free to enter. Photographs must feature the natural setting of Cave Hill Cemetery and will be judged on creativity, photographic quality, and the effectiveness in conveying the beauty and unique character of cemetery.

 

Contest rules and a downloadable entry form can be found at www.cavehillcemetery.com. For more information, call the Cave Hill Heritage Foundation at (502) 451-5630 and speak with Foundation Coordinator Michael Higgs. 

 

The calendar and contest was met with great popularity in 2011. Winning photos from the 2010 and 2011 contests may be viewed in the image gallery on the cemetery’s website.

 

Barkstown Road, a new pet boutique at 1045 Bardstown Road, is celebrating its grand opening from Thursday, March 15, through Sunday, March 18. The new shop features eco-friendly, affordable, and mostly American-made merchandise, including food, pet apparel, toys and health products. There is also a washing and grooming station. 

 

“I’m not trying to be the Beverly Hills pet boutique. I wanted there to be both fun and practical items in the store that I would have been able to afford as a grad student while still maintaining a level of quality, durability and uniqueness,” says store owner Kim Boyle.  “There are a lot of people out there who want to provide the best products for their pets, but simply can’t afford it.”

 

At the grand opening, guests will receive free gifts with purchases, and free food and coffee will be available. Dogs and their owners can also hang out in the store’s courtyard, which features lawn furniture and doggie drinking fountains. 

 

Barkstown Road is the pet project of Kentucky native and animal ally Kim Boyle. Kim and her sister Aimee Boyle Wulfeck are the founders of Ferdinand’s Ball, a Derby party in its third year that benefits Old Friends, a farm in Georgetown, Ky., where retired thoroughbreds can relax, run and do what they please without the threat of being slaughtered or sold.

 

Barkstown Road is open 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Thursday and Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday; and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday. For more information, call (502) 386-3447 or visit www.barkstownroad.com.