Dr. Douglas Airhart with Tennessee Tech University will be one of the presenters at the Arbor Week Tree Seminar on Feb. 24 at Madison City Hall. CONTRIBUTED

MADISON – The Arbor Week Tree Seminar on Feb. 24 will offer three free sessions by career horticulturists.

Madison Beautification and Tree Board is sponsoring the seminar at Madison City Hall from noon to 9 p.m. Residents can attend one or all three presentations.

At noon, individuals can join Mayor Troy Trulock to plant a tree on City Hall’s lawn. Beautification board members will plant additional trees until about 3 p.m. and invite residents to assist with the work.

Seminars will open with welcoming remarks at 5:15 p.m.

Dr. Douglas Airhart, horticultural production professor at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, will present “Mind Your P’s & Q’s of Tree Care” from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Airhart’s discussion will cover maintenance, pruning and disease control.

Beautification board members will serve snacks at 6:30 p.m., publicist Meredith Kilby said.

“Right Tree, Right Place” by Marc Byers at 7 p.m. will cover the optimum sites and species for home landscapes. Byers worked in a family business, Byers Nursery, for 23 years. He now works as Supervisor of Forestry and Horticulture for City of Huntsville.

The evening’s final speaker, Joe McPhail, will discuss “Tree Work Safety” from 8 to 8:45 p.m. International Society of Arboriculture has certified McPhail as an arborist and in tree risk assessment. He works for City of Florence Electricity Department.

Closing remarks will be given from 8:45 to 9 p.m.

In other Arbor Week observance, winners of the annual Arbor Week Fifth-Grade Poster Contest will be presented at Madison City Council’s meeting at City Hall on Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. Four elementary schools in Madison participated with the theme, “Trees are Terrific … Inside and Out.” First-place posters will advance to state competition held in Anniston.

First-place winners in the Arbor Week contest are Jenna Velez, Columbia Elementary School; Sachi M. Ranachandran, Heritage Elementary School; Luke Mitchell, Madison Elementary School; and Audrey Groger, St. John the Baptist Catholic School.

For online reservations for seminars, visit http://www.keepmadisonbeautiful.org.