As part of an exhibit focusing on local Orange County trees, the Orange County Citizens Foundation is collecting poems, songs, stories, and memories from local residents about trees in their communities. The information will be displayed as part of their 2010 Cultural Exhibit, which is scheduled to open in September. The goal of the project is to help people of all ages become more aware of the importance of trees to our environment, communities and heritage. “Over the past several decades, Orange County and the nation have lost a number of tree species due to disease, changes in the environment and development,” said Nancy Proyect, President of the Orange County Citizens Foundation. “By developing relationships with trees in their local communities, we hope large numbers of people will begin to recognize the importance of healthy trees and responsible development to our future. We’ve received a number of wonderful submissions already but we know there are a lot more out there and we want to encourage everyone to participate.” The project has five distinct components and has been designed as a moveable exhibit so that it can travel to Orange County’s schools, museums, and libraries. Local tree stories, poems, and songs are the first piece of the exhibit. This portion of the project will be collected and published in a booklet for visitors to take with them. Oral histories will be posted on the Orange County Citizens Foundation’s website. “One of the best ways to tie people to their local community is to write about, tell stories and recollect memories of times past,” Proyect said. “We are counting on our local citizens to help develop a written and oral shared history for our children and newer residents. We believe this will be one of the most popular components of the exhibit.” Other components include: Fourth grade students participated in a “Coolest Trees Contest” to find the biggest, spookiest, oldest, strangest-looking, best climbing, or most ...