Each year in July, volunteers from the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) gather at Arlington National Cemetery and the National Mall to perform important services like mulching, edging, aeration, and more.
This event, called “Renewal & Remembrance has been taking place for 27 years. For 2023, it drew 500 volunteers.
This is an event that Joshua Tree Experts has been proud to be a part of in the past. We appreciate the opportunity to apply our expertise in ways that can help make a meaningful impact.
This year, we played an important role in some tree care that needed to be performed.
We recently spoke to three of our team members who traveled to Washington DC to volunteer their time. All three expressed it was a memorable experience as well as an opportunity to serve the brave veterans who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.
Bringing Our Tree Care Expertise to Arlington National Cemetery
Micah Lee Lichtenwalner and Kevin Druckenmiller have nearly 40 years of combined tree care experience and have volunteered their time at Arlington National Cemetery in the past. Joining them this year was Ben Schott who experienced his first time volunteering at Renewal & Remembrance as well as his first time visiting the nation’s capital.
Given the high level of skill and expertise that we were able to offer, we were tasked with installing lightning protection in a large, mature Willow Oak Tree at the Cemetery.
For this procedure, the arborist must climb to the furthest extremities of the very top of the tree and install a copper lightning rod. They must then attach a copper wire to the rod and run it down the trunk of the tree, securing it to the trunk of the tree along the way.
Once at the base of the tree, the wire is buried in a trench and connected to a ground rod. The trench is then filled in and the lightning protection is complete. It can be complicated (and even dangerous) work and it’s important that it is performed by a highly skilled professional.
This entire process protects the tree (as well as the headstones around it) from damaging lightning strikes by redirecting the strike into the ground.
Playing a Small Part in Serving Our Nation’s Heroes
Given the sacred nature of this important location, we saw this as incredibly important work and were humbled to be able to do it.
The grounds of Arlington National Cemetery contain the bodies of our nation’s brave heroes and we are honored to be able to play a small role in helping protect that precious land. Even stepping foot on Arlington National Cemetery is an awe-inspiring and humbling moment.
This national land is admired in American history and also hosts more than 3,000 ceremonies each year. Keeping the grounds in the best possible shape is important work.
Other projects that were completed during the NALP’s event included irrigation restoration, woodchip installation, and turf renovation near the Washington Monument.
It’s always exciting to see other leaders in the landscape industry come together for this important event.
“Landscape and lawn care professionals love to give back and the annual Renewal & Remembrance event allows them to use their horticulture skills to care for some of America’s most important green spaces,” said NALP CEO Britt Wood in a press release put out by the NALP.
There’s no question we love being involved in Renewal & Remembrance and look forward to our participation every year.
Giving Back is Part of Who We Are
Over the years, Joshua Tree Experts has given back in many ways. We love partnering with our local community to be able to give back on a more local level. That has meant partnering with local schools, community days, police organizations, and so much more.
Every opportunity is meaningful to us. We love to give back because it’s part of who we are. We truly care about people and appreciate finding ways that we can be of service.
But our service to Arlington National Cemetery is undoubtedly a favorite opportunity.
We are proud to be able to use our tree care skills to help in such a rewarding way.
This year, the crew had to halt work in the midst of being aloft in the tree as a burial procession began to take place. That small crew of three said that the experience was humbling to witness.
It helped to remind them just how meaningful this work was.
Looking to the future, we will continue to find ways that we can give back to the local community as well as participate in larger events such as this one. We have been part of Renewal & Remembrance for more than 10 years now and we look forward to continuing to be involved.
It’s truly part of who we are to give back.
Learn more about how Joshua Tree Experts has made Community Involvement a priority and let us know how we can partner with your charitable organization.
