In 1928 Congress established the Central Great Plains Field Station just west of Cheyenne, Wyoming to work on fruits, vegetables, windbreaks and ornamental plants to aid in the development of horticulture in the high plains. By 1970 the Station had experimented with thousands of plants from all over the world and developed a large arboretum and an apple orchard which was destroyed when the focus changed to grass and grazing animal research. Today the High Plains Arboretum (the remnant portion of the arboretum owned and managed by Cheyenne) is being restored by the City Forestry with the help of the world renowned Cheyenne Botanical Gardens and wishes to reestablish the apple orchard component for the enjoyment and benefit of the community and to enhance nearby cemeteries in planned (City expansion) or development stage (National Cemetery), a new park if you will.
This instant the first National Cemetery in Wyoming is under construction to be completed in September of 2020. The arboretum and it's apple orchard component will become part of the landscaping and enhancement of visitors experience as family and friends from Wyoming and northern Colorado visit loved ones in initially the National Cemetery. The Cemetery and adjacent arboretum and orchard will become a destination point and as such provide peace and tranquility for visitors, an education point for youth and public and community development for services rendered to visitors.
The project funds will purchase ~28 apple 1"- 2" diameter stock. Planting will take place in the spring of 2021 and Rotarian volunteers will provide planting and maintenance assistance.
Addendum to Project Description (added after the project was signed)
The initial planting was completed in May at which time it was found that the tree stock price came in lower than expected resulting in unused funds totaling >$1,000. Cheyenne City Forestry has identified a need to replant trees in the City Lakeview Cemetery that have been lost due in part to the recent drought in Wyoming. Lakeview Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in Cheyenne founded shortly after the Union Pacific Railroad came through in the 1800s and the tree stock is in poor condition, replanting will bring back the natural beauty of this legacy cemetery. Rotary funds will assist by investing the remaining funds from the grant in replacement tree stock. Rotarians will participate in planting that will be completed in June.
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