For Immediate Release

From: Katherine Cummings
Lockerly Arboretum Executive Director

Lockerly Arboretum is celebrating our 50th Anniversary this year, and we are hosting a full day of events on Saturday, April 11th as part of our year-long recognition of this benchmark. Our events on April 11 are also part of Milledgeville Museum Day.

The events at Lockerly on the 11th will include our first-ever Plant Swap, providing local garden enthusiasts with a chance to swap plants and take home something they need in their yard or garden. The Plant Swap will be held from 10:00-11:00 on the Lockerly lawn. Details about the Plant Swap our on our web site at lockerly.org.

Following the Plant Swap, Jana Otis, our Horticulture Director, will offer an hour long Container Gardening class in the Rose Hill classroom. Container Gardens are a great way to add color to your yard, or grow vegetables. There is no charge for the class.

Children ages 12 and younger can register for our nature scavenger hunt program, Lockerly Eco-Explorers, any time of the year, but we hope families will come out and join others who will be looking for plants, trees, bird, and animals in the Arboretum that day. There is a $5.00 charge for this year-round program, and every child who completes four scavenger hunts will receive a special Eco-Explorer t-shirt.

Kevin Haywood will be at the Arboretum helping children and adults learn about Orienteering, which involves using a compass, map, and directions for finding a destination point. We'll have Orienteering courses set up with different degrees of difficulty. Visitors can also use GPS technology to find the four geocaches hidden in the Arboretum.

If you want to look for historic items lost long ago on the grounds at Lockerly, Travis Strickland will lead treasure hunters on a trek using his medal detector. All found items will be added to the historic collection at the Arboretum. Visit our web site at lockerly.org/events for the time of this part of the day's activities.

Docents will offer guided tours of Rose Hill from 10:00-3:00. Visitors can learn more about our historic mansion as well as some of Milledgeville's history. Guided tours are $3 per adult and $1 for students.

Volunteers and staff will lead visitors on guided tours of the Arboretum throughout the day. Lockerly has about a mile of paths that wind through conifer plantings, camellias, seasonal blooming flowers, and tall trees.

Lunch on the grounds will be available from 11:00-1:00. Georgia Bob's will serve a choice of pulled pork or chicken salad plates with slaw, chips, bread, and a drink. Reserve your lunch in advance on our web site at lockerly.org/events or at our office at 1534 Irwinton Road in Milledgeville, so you don't miss out on a chance to have a picnic lunch in the gardens.

We hope you'll join us on Saturday, April 11 for a full day of activities and exploring Lockerly Arboretum and Rose Hill, two of Middle Georgia's jewels. You can find a full schedule of events for April 11, in addition to volunteering opportunities, our summer camps, and events planned for the year, on our web site at lockerly.org.

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Contact: katherinecummings@lockerly.org
478.232.8010 cell
478.452.2112 office