First United Presbyterian Church is an Earth Care congregation, so we are naturally delighted to announce that the City of Fayetteville is planning a Celebration of Trees for October 11, 2025. Beginning at 7:00 a.m., the City staff and Urban Foresters will hand out native trees and shrubs to Fayetteville residents for free in honor of Arbor Day.
The Spring Street Parking Deck and the southwest corner of the Fayetteville Farmers Market on the Square will be the locations for the celebration. Each resident can choose two plants. Proof of residency (a utility bill, for example) will be required.
Plan ahead so you’ll know which plants you want to request. Have your two favorite choices, but consider an alternate in case you pick the most popular ones and they’re all gone!
- Buttonbush -Cephanlanthus occidentalis
- Arrowwood viburnum – Viburnum dentatum
- Virginia sweetspire – Itea virginiana
- French mulberry/beautyberry – Callicarpa americana
- Spice bush – Lindera benzoin
- Native fringe tree – Chionanthus virginicus
- Persimmon – Diospyros virginiana
- Winterberry – Ilexa opaca
- Nuttall oak – Quercus texana
- Swamp chestnut oak – Quercus michauxii
- American beech – Fagus grandiflora
- Bald cypress – Taxodium distichum
- Sycamore – Platanus occidentalis
Plants will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis until all 1,900 plants have been given away.
At FUPC, the Earth Care Task Force supervises removal of invasive species and their replacement with native shrubs and trees. Not only does this ensure the best habitat for native wildlife, it also helps with the problem of erosion which we’re fighting on the campus.
These shrubs and trees can do the same thing at your home!
Visit the City of Fayetteville website for more details.