Heather N. Kolich, ANR Agent, UGA Extension Forsyth County
On Wednesday, September 18, 2024, I had the honor of joining 29 arborists, tree care professionals, U.S. military veterans, and other volunteers at the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton for the 10th anniversary of Saluting Branches. Across the U.S. and in Puerto Rico, over 4,000 volunteers came together at 110 veteran-dedicated hospitals, homes, and cemeteries to donate a day of tree and lawn care services.
“This is my favorite day of the year,” said Daniel Bauer, president of Arbor Equity Inc and coordinator of the Georgia chapter of Saluting Branches. “We [tree care professionals] all compete throughout the year, but on this day, we all work together.”
Originally created by Rainbow Treecare in partnership with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Saluting Branches is a non-profit organization dedicated to recognizing and honoring veterans by organizing volunteer tree and landscape care for properties dedicated to veterans. From its enthusiastic beginning at the Minnesota State Cemetery in 2015, Saluting Branches has spread to all 50 states and is the largest single-day volunteer event in the tree care industry.
At the Georgia National Cemetery, tree care companies from around North Georgia, including Arborguard Professional Tree Care Services and Arbor Equity Tree Services, contributed skilled volunteers and equipment. Event sponsors Vermeer and Mason Tractor brought in essential heavy equipment, including an articulated loader, a scissor lift, and a whole-tree chipper.
“What you’re doing today is improving the cemetery and opening up additional spaces for veterans,” said Georgia National Cemetery Director Todd Newkirk during the safety briefing before volunteers dispersed to their assigned areas.
The 775-acre property was donated in 2001 by Atlanta World War II veteran, land developer, and philanthropist Scott Hudgens. Development of 100 acres began in 2005 and the cemetery opened for burials in April of 2006. Now, over 30,000 veterans, spouses, and dependent children are interred there. Newkirk said the cemetery receives 2,000 veterans and family members each year. Work is currently underway to open additional burial areas. Eventually, 330 acres will be developed for burials.
The missions for the Saluting Branches volunteers were both aesthetic and functional. My group of six volunteers – Brittany Kilgore from Atlanta Classic Tree Service, Alex Shead (veteran, U.S. Army), and three members of the Atlanta Tree Climbing Club, Wiley Stone, TJ Convery (veteran, U.S. Navy), and Roger Nagy (veteran, U.S. Army Air Corps) – worked to raise the canopies of trees lining the cemetery entryway and the lanes encircling the information center so that larger vehicles can pass underneath. At two of the burial areas, crews from Arborguard and Arbor Equity limbed up, cut down, and chipped up several trees that were encroaching into the grave sites.
After a break for lunch, provided by Vermeer, we went back to work, pushing to finish up before chipper crews drove around to work sites to grind the stacks of pruned branches into mulch. Other volunteers came behind with blowers to restore the peace and dignity of the cemetery.
Although Saluting Branches has been going on for 10 years, this was just the third time the Georgia National Cemetery has been the beneficiary site for the event. Daniel Bauer explained that in Georgia, the event rotates between Andersonville National Cemetery, the Marietta National Cemetery, and the Georgia National Cemetery. It happens every year in September. For more information or to learn how you can get involved, visit https://www.salutingbranches.org/.