The Sussex County Land Trust’s Hudson Park was the perfect setting for the second annual Sussex Preservation Coalition Arbor Day celebration April 26.

Plans for the park at the intersection of Route 9 and Cool Spring Road near Lewes include reforestation, which was a perfect match for the theme of the event. It was all about the trees.

The highlight of the event was a tree planting dedicated to Eul Lee and Sussex 2030, which was one of the first grassroots groups to focus on Sussex County land-use applications and, as SPC Vice President Jill Hicks said, paved the way for the coalition. A swamp white oak was selected as the tree.

The group formed after residents, led by Lee and husband, Jens, fought an application for a 7-Eleven convenience store at the intersection of Route 24 and Angola Road, which was denied by Sussex officials.

“Eul started a movement that brought people together who have been forever changed and become lifelong friends,” Hicks said. “She is phenomenal. She spoke out, she testified and she educated us. She is very humble but can remember everything and everybody. There would be no SPC without her.”

In a letter written by Lee and read by Hicks, she said several groups were involved in the formation of Sussex 2030. It started with two Zoom meetings each week because of the COVID-19 pandemic, she said. Today, Lee maintains a website filled with information about key land-use decisions in the county and also testifies at public hearings.

Featured speaker Christophe Tulou, executive director of the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays, said it was wonderful to be in the company of people who love trees. CIB is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2024.

He said groups like SPC and Sussex 2030 bring collective voices together that can’t be ignored. “We need to keep what we have as much as we possibly can,” Tulou said.

In addition, he said, there’s a need to reforest as much as possible and also bring preservation home. He said 90% of the land east of the Mississippi River is privately owned by homeowners, which includes 40 million square miles of yards, which he called dead zones that have no benefit to the environment. “We need less lawns. Turn half of your yards into gardens with trees and native plants. Green lawns are not the best to support the life that supports us,” he said.

Other groups taking part included Sierra Club, League of Women Voters of Sussex County and Delaware Habitat Guardians.

For more information, go to sussexpreservationcoalition.org.