Treefest cancelled after Hurricane Matthew destroys seedlings

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) – A longtime annual event in Wilmington is not happening this year because of damage from Hurricane Matthew.

Every year during Treefest, seedlings are distributed in New Hanover County.

But organizers say due to impacts from Hurricane Matthew, the tree seedlings did not survive. Each year, the tree seedlings are bought from the NC Forest Service nursery in Goldsboro. Flooding from the storm left the nursery underwater. This year’s crop did not make it.

TreeFest began in 1997 by several groups in the region to help replace trees lost during Hurricanes Bertha and Fran.

The committee plans to hold TreeFest again in January 2018.