Media representatives are invited to join NASA, the
National Arboretum and American Forests to celebrate Earth Day and
the 40th anniversary of the first Apollo moon landing with a tree
planting ceremony April 22 at the National Arboretum, 3501 New York
Avenue N.E., Washington. The planting ceremony begins at 1 p.m. EDT.
NASA astronaut Stuart Roosa had been a U.S. Forest Service smoke
jumper. During the Apollo 14 mission to the moon in 1971, he took
along tree seeds from a Loblolly pine, sycamore, sweet gum, redwood,
and Douglas fir. After returning to Earth, the U.S. Forest Service
germinated these seeds, which grew into first-generation “moon
trees.”
The moon trees have been planted throughout the United States, but the
sycamore is the first to be planted at the National Arboretum.
American Forests, the nation’s oldest conservation organization,
continues the legacy of this Apollo-era program by maintaining
second-generation moon trees and making them available through its
Historic Trees Program.
Reporters planning to attend the event should contact Susan Burgess at
202-245-4565 or susan.burgess@ars.usda.gov by April 21.
For a comprehensive listing of NASA’s Earth Day activities, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/earthday
For directions to the event and more information about the National
Arboretum, visit:
http://www.usna.usda.gov
