Virginia Nursery & Landscape Association Recognizes State Leaders by Participating with Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership’s Living Legacy Tree Planting Project

News provided by

The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership

Apr 17, 2015, 00:00 ET

Waterford, VA (PRWEB) April 17, 2015 -- The Virginia Nursery and Landscape Association (VNLA) recognized members of the 2015 Virginia General Assembly, Governor Terry McAuliffe, and his entire cabinet with a donation of native trees to the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Living Legacy Tree Planting Project. The trees will be dedicated at an April 20 ceremony at the Historic Montpelier Train Station, located on the grounds of James Madison’s Montpelier near Orange, Virginia, at 1:00 p.m.

The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership’s Living Legacy Tree Planting Project is an effort to honor the 620,000 fallen soldiers of the Civil War by planting one tree for each who died during this country’s most defining moment. In doing so, the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership’s Living Legacy Tree Project will become a National Memorial for the Civil War Fallen.

VNLA members thought it fitting to honor Virginia’s legislators and staff for their careful decision-making on topics affecting Virginia residents and the state’s green industry with a donation that not only beautifies, but pays homage to the ultimate sacrifice made by thousands who came before them.

Honorees that will be attending the ceremony include Commonwealth of Virginia Senator Emmett Hanger Jr., Commonwealth of Virginia Delegate Edward T. Scott, Secretary of Natural Resources Molly Ward, and Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Todd Haymore.

“The VNLA is comprised of hundreds of growers, garden centers and landscape professionals, all who want to show support and appreciation for the steadfast work of the General Assembly and staff who keep our state progressing forward,” VNLA President, Sonya Lepper Westervelt, said. “We view the General Assembly as Virginia’s ‘root system’ supporting the Commonwealth and her residents. Similar to the Living Legacy trees, the legislative seeds planted during the 2015 Regular Session will continue to grow in impact and allow future generations to thrive.”

Trees planted as part of the Living Legacy Project will eventually stretch along the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Scenic Byway, a 180-mile swath of land that runs from Gettysburg, PA to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Charlottesville, VA. It was upon the battlefields within this region that many of the soldiers who fought and died over 150 years ago. Upon completion, the Living Legacy Tree Project will create the first 180-mile planned landscape in the world. For more information on the Living Legacy Project, visit http://www.hallowedgroundtrees.org.

The Journey, The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership, +1 (540) 882-4929, [email protected]