Mellon Park Arbor Day

Trees, trees, and so much more!

It’s the Arbor Day Celebration in Mellon Park and the Fifth Anniversary of the Mellon Park Arboretum.

On Saturday, April 26, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., please join Friends of Mellon Park and dozens of community organizations on the south side of the park. Rick Sebak from WQED will emcee the outdoor family celebration where all are welcome. We’ll be on the oval, just uphill from the corner of Beechwood Avenue and Fifth Avenue.

There will be art and nature activities for children, scavenger hunts, nature-based matching games, and seeds for planting. Quack A Doodle Doo, a mobile petting zoo, will join the fun, as will a raptor from the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania. Playnotes will offer a special interactive music program just for kids.

Picnics are encouraged, and there will also be a food truck, a 12-foot-tall espresso/coffee truck, and a donut stand. Kids can learn about safety from McGruff the Crime Dog, a fire truck and firefighters, and police officers with a police car and motorcycle.

Tree Pittsburgh will host a tree adoption table, with trees available at no cost on a first come, first served basis.

For older kids and adults there are tree walks and master gardeners who will answer planting and gardening questions.

The Western Pennsylvania Unit of the Herb Society of America, which created and maintains the Elizabethan Herb Garden in Mellon Park’s Terraced Garden, will be this year’s honoree. A proclamation from Pittsburgh City Council will be read and a tree will be planted in recognition of the group’s 45 years of dedication to educating the public and providing the community with a unique horticultural treasure.

Friends of Mellon Park is an all-volunteer organization whose mission is to support, protect, and advocate for Mellon Park. We are committed to a park that is welcoming to all, on both sides of Fifth Avenue. The group is pleased to once again host the annual Arbor Day Celebration in the park.

Friends of Mellon Park has:

• collaborated with City Forestry to create the Mellon Park Arboretum, the first public arboretum in the City of Pittsburgh;

• worked closely with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy, the City of Pittsburgh, and community organizations to develop the Mellon Park Action Plan;

• raised money to provide continuing care for trees in the park;

• brought together an active group of gardening volunteers to work in the horticultural beds throughout Mellon Park;

• worked closely with Preservation Pittsburgh to protect the park by securing a City Landmark Designation and placement on the National Register of Historic Places;

• funded a study of the Terraced Garden to improve and stabilize that beautiful historic structure;

• collaborated with Phipps Conservatory and the community on the redesign of the Garden Center in Mellon Park;

• consulted with City Planning and the community on the new Tennis Center in Mellon Park.

Please join us on Saturday, April 26, to enjoy Mellon Park and get to know us and the many organizations that love trees and the park.

If you have questions or would like to participate in Arbor Day, please contact Friends of Mellon Park at info@friendsofmellonpark.org.