A bundle of tree and shrub seedlings that attract songbirds will be the prize for 10 winners in the Kansas Conservation Tree Planting Program's annual trivia contest.
The contest is open to any Kansan.
The prize is an expert-selected group of 20 seedlings. Called the Songbird Bundle, it includes three Eastern red cedars widely adaptable and drought-tolerant evergreen trees that can reach 30-35 feet tall and 12-15 feet wide.
It also includes a variety of Kansas birds' favorite shrubs: common ninebark, red-twig dogwood, fragrant sumac and golden currant.
The bundle will fit in a corner of any good-sized back yard, conservation officials said.
To qualify, entries must arrive at the Kansas Forest Service main office by 5 p.m. March 29.
They must include the "trivia" answers, plus the contestant's name, phone number, home county, and street address for a potential prize delivery (not a P.O. Box number).
Contestants may submit entries by postal mail to Kansas Forest Service, 2610 Claflin Road, Manhattan 66502, by e-mail to bloucks@oznet.ksu.edu, or by fax to (800) 532-3305.
Entrants also may post their answers on the forest service's Web site at www.kansasforests.org/conservation_trees.htm.
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| Here are the contest questions. Each may have more than one correct answer. Circle the letter(s) for ALL correct answers.
1. To have the best odds for their survival in Kansas, plant trees in ...
a. March and April.
b. May.
c. November.
d. Year-round.
2. Leaf arrangement is a useful characteristic when identifying trees because their leaves can be alternate, opposite or whorled. Trees with an opposite leaf arrangement include ...
a. Cottonwood.
b. Black walnut.
c. Green ash.
d. Silver maple.
3. Some shrubs develop shoots from root suckers, thus producing thickets that can be valuable wildlife habitat. Among these thicket-forming shrubs are ...
a. American plum.
b. Fragrant sumac.
c. Chokecherry.
d. Peking cotoneaster.
4. When European settlers arrived in what now is Kansas, they found 4.5 million acres of forest. Today, the number of Kansas woodland acres capable of producing commercial wood products is ...
a. None.
b. 100,000.
c. 750,000.
d. 1,400,000.
5. Christmas tree plantations make a considerable contribution to the environment because ...
a. Each acre of real Christmas trees produces the oxygen needed daily by about 18 human beings.
b. Christmas tree plantations filter dust and smog from the air.
c. Artificial trees commonly contain nonbiodegradable plastics and metals, but real trees are a renewable, recyclable resource.
d. Christmas tree plantations provide little wildlife habitat.
e. Real Christmas trees never start fires.
6. Each year about 1.4 billion tree seedlings are planted in the United States roughly 4 million per day more than making up for the number of trees harvested. Through the Conservation Tree Planting Program alone, the seedlings planted in Kansas last year added up to ...
a. 50,000.
b. 250,000.
c. 500,000.
d. 680,000.
7. Windbreaks are a valuable asset on farms, ranches and homesites because ...
a. They create an improved dairy environment that results in increased milk production, better animal health and fewer calving problems.
b. Windbreaks reduce beef and dairy cattle stress and thus reduce feed energy requirements (and costs).
c. They can decrease the odors associated with livestock production.
d. Windbreaks can cut home heat loss by 90 percent in winter and provide landscape shade in summer.
8. Arbor Day is celebrated as a tree-planting holiday. Last year the state Legislature changed the date for Kansas Arbor Day to ...
a. The last Friday in March.
b. The first Friday in April.
c. The last Friday in April.
d. May 15.
9. Trees vary in the amount of shade they can tolerate. Those that will grow in moderate shade include ...
a. Honeylocust.
b. Green ash.
c. Silver maple.
d. Hackberry.
10. Bruising releases a vanilla odor from the bark and young stems of the ...
a. Ponderosa pine.
b. Eastern red cedar.
c. Black walnut.
d. Oriental arborvitae.
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