City of Lincoln Logo (Courtesy of City of Lincoln)LINCOLN–(KFOR Sept. 21) The Parks and Recreation Department today invited residents to the Wild Fall Festival and Tree Giveaway Saturday, September 28. The free event will be from 1 to 4 p.m. at the west end of Pioneers Park, 3201 S. Coddington Ave. Visitors are asked to park in the main Nature Center parking lot or the overflow parking lot located east of the Nature Center gates. A portion of the road past the Nature Center gates and the Bison Loop will be closed during the event to accommodate pedestrians. Wild Fall Festival activities include:  Wagon rides will depart every half hour starting at 1:30 p.m. Each 20-minute ride will tour the prairie and provide a behind-the-scenes view of the bison pasture and grazing area. Tickets are $5 per person and can be purchased at the front desk in the Prairie Building. Guided woodland explorations will depart from the Chet Ager Building every half hour starting at 1:30 p.m. Tours of the historic Hudson Cabin and Cunningham School house Presentations about plants, including a variety of uses, pollinators, and more at the Louise Evans Doole Herb Garden and Native Prairie Garden Digging and discovery in the Natural Play Area with Nature Preschool teachers Art activities presented by the LUX Center for the Arts and the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators Discussion with Parks staff about the animals that live at the Nature Center A presentation about local insects and conservation by the UNL Insect Science Club A display about amphibians and reptiles by UNL Herpetology, Snakes and More A bird mist netting demonstration by the Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center in the Chet Ager Building A presentation from Parks staff about prescribed fire and its use in the restoration and maintenance of tallgrass prairie Free tree giveaway details are as follows: Participants must visit the Parks and Recreation booth near the Pioneers Park Nature Center Prairie Building to obtain a ticket from City tree experts. Trees can then be picked up near the Cunningham School building. The 250 trees will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis. The trees will be in three-gallon containers and include planting and care instructions. Trees are being made available to be planted on private property. The species available are locally grown and well suited for the Eastern Nebraska climate. They include Canada Red Chokecherry, Ironwood, Princeton American Elm, Swamp White Oak, Bur Oak, and Tuliptree. The tree giveaway is an ongoing effort to replace trees that have been damaged or destroyed by storms and by the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). The goal of event is to distribute trees to homeowners in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods who have experienced tree loss. A diverse mix of trees will be planted to replace the public ash trees. Residents may apply to participate in the Adopt an Ash tree program, which allows residents to voluntarily pay for chemical injection treatment of ash street trees near their homes to extend the lives of the trees. EAB was first discovered in Lincoln in August 2018. Lincoln’s EAB Response and Recovery Plan includes phased removal of public ash trees along streets and in parks. For more information on the EAB response plan, At-Risk Tree Removal grant, the Adopt an Ash tree program, and the Community Forestry Division, visit trees.lincoln.ne.gov. For more information on the Wild Fall Festival, visit lincoln.ne.gov/wildfallfestival. For more information about the free tree distribution, visit lincoln.ne.gov/treegiveaway. For the detailed history of the Pioneers Park Nature Center and its programming, visit lincoln.ne.gov/naturecenter. For more information about Lincoln Parks and Recreation programs, visit parks.lincoln.ne.gov.