Adventure and learning come together every day at Bays Mountain Park & Planetarium! This summer, your child can spend a week learning and exploring in nature at Bays Mountain’s Summer Day Camp.

Registration is now open for 2020 Summer Day Camp sessions for rising 1^st through 6^th graders. Each week-long Day Camp session is filled with outdoor, nature-oriented activities that give your child hands-on learning experiences.

Day camp hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sessions are limited to 30 campers per week and are listed below.

Students entering 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd grades in Fall 2020:

• June 1 – 5
• June 15 – 19
• June 29 – July 3
• July 13 – 17
• July 20 – 24

Students entering 4^th, 5^th and 6^th grades in Fall 2020:

• June 8 – 12
• June 22 – 26
• July 6 – 10

Campers should bring a bag lunch with a drink each day, and wear appropriate clothing. Parents or guardians should plan to stay on the first morning for a short orientation of the week’s activities and expectations. Transportation to and from camp is the guardian’s responsibility.

Tuition for camp is $60 per child. A current Family Membership with the Park is required to register your child or grandchild for Day Camp. Family Memberships are $50 and give your family an entire year of free entry into the Park for one vehicle and up to six free passes per program (planetarium shows, barge rides and nature programs) every time you visit the Park.

To register your child for Day Camp, please pick up an application in the Nature Center or download the application from baysmountain.com. A separate application must be filled out for each child returned with payment. You can turn in your application at the Nature Center or by mailing it to the address at the bottom of the form. Please make checks payable to the Bays Mountain Park Association. Refunds will be given up to two weeks before the session. After that, refunds will be given only if the slot can be filled.

For more information on Bays Mountain Park & Planetarium, please visit baysmountain.com or call (423)229-9447.

Vice Mayor Colette George will issue a proclamation declaring Kingsport’s 34^th Arbor Day Celebration at noon on Friday, March 6, at Roosevelt Elementary School.

“Our trees are part of what makes Kingsport such a great place to live,” said City Landscape Specialist Lewis Bausell. “It’s important to remind our community of that every year.”

In honor of the city’s commitment to effective urban forestry management, the National Arbor Day Foundation will recognized Kingsport as a Tree City USA for the thirty-fourth year in a row.

A community must meet four standards to receive this national designation and the Tree City USA flag. It must have a tree advisory board or department, a tree care ordinance, a comprehensive community forestry program and an annual Arbor Day celebration. The National Association of State Foresters, USDA Forest Service and the Tennessee Division of Forestry also sponsor the Tree City USA program.

This Arbor Day, a new tree will be inducted to the Notable Tree of Kingsport Register. To be considered “notable,” a tree must have historical significance or be the largest of its kind in an area. This year’s tree is a Persimmon, located along Shadyside Drive.  This tree is over 55 feet tall with a circumference of over 47 inches and a crown spread of over 30 feet in any direction.

Kingsport’s Streets and Sanitation Department maintains over 12,000 trees and over 15 acres of landscaping in the city. The department also removes damaged or deceased trees on public lands, while providing annual upkeep of 21 park facilities and 827 acres of green space.

This department also maintains a Level II Arboretum Certification at Borden Park, sponsored by Domtar and Keep Kingsport Beautiful. The Tennessee Urban Forestry Council and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture coordinate the arboretum certification program, which encourages public education of the importance of the different species of trees. Level II requirements include labeling over 60 trees species, keeping a map available to the public that shows the locations of the tree species and exemplifying proper tree management practices.

“These programs and partnerships show that Kingsport really values our urban forest,” Bausell said.

Kingsport’s Arbor Day celebration is a partnership of Domtar, City of Kingsport, Kingsport Tree Advisory Board and Keep Kingsport Beautiful.