BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. — The employees of Gat Creek in Berkeley Springs will commemorate Arbor Day 2023 by planting five Sugar Maple trees on the site of the wood furniture company’s factory expansion.
“We’re tree people here. We live amongst the trees and we craft our and our living from the trees, so Arbor Day is a day we can easily enjoy celebrating,” Gat Creek CEO Gat Caperton explained.
Caperton said it’s full circle. “In the past two years, we’ve been expanding our facility. People have been buying lots furniture, which is fantastic, but when you expand your facility, you lose trees.”
“Arbor Day gives us a chance to put a couple of trees back in the ground.”
They’ve selected Sugar Maples, the state tree, for what Caperton characterizes as a fun event.
Gat Creek employees, 170 strong, will celebrate the event by dedicating each of the five trees in the name of someone in the community.
Caperton will make brief remarks about the expansion of the factory and the company’s stewardship of forest resources.
The event is set for Friday beginning at 9:15 a.m. at Gat Creek, 5270 Valley Road (Route 522) in Berkeley Springs.
Arbor Day is celebrated in the United States on the last Friday in April.