Anchorage Audubon Society is giving away 10,000 spruce seedlings

The Anchorage Audubon Society is giving away 10,000 white spruce seedlings over the next two weekends in an attempt to replace some of the trees lost to spruce beetle kill in recent years.

The Audubon Society is known as an organization dedicated to the conservation of birds, and the effort to distribute the trees in Anchorage is aimed at helping build up bird habitat lost with beetle kill in Southcentral Alaska.

The seedlings, which come from a nursery in Minnesota, were frozen and dormant over the winter and shipped to Alaska in cold storage.

[The spruce beetle invasion’s exhausting toll on Southcentral Alaska property owners]

The seedlings are not bare root, but they have a small amount of soil attached to the root plug. That means they must be planted as soon as possible after they are picked up, organizers say. They said the seedlings have a window of about one week from arrival until they have to be watered or cared for.

The best method for planting the seedlings is in a 1-gallon pot, watering regularly and allowing it to sit in the shade. The tree can stay in the pot for several years. When it is 2 to 3 feet tall, the tree can be transplanted — but white spruce trees can grow to 60 feet, so plant with future growth in mind. The seedlings can also be planted directly into the ground.

The effort launched Thursday night at Westchester Lagoon during the Anchorage Audubon Society’s annual potluck. A small line had already formed when the distribution started at 5:30 p.m.

Gunnar Bowen, 8, helped his dad, Duane Bowen, pick out a handful of clusters of seedlings. They live in the neighborhood and plan to plant the seedlings on their property across the lagoon.

Seedlings can be picked up at a variety of locations over the next several days in the Anchorage area:

Friday

Bird Treatment & Learning Center, 15510 Old Seward Highway, 5-7 p.m.

YMCA of Alaska, 5353 Lake Otis Parkway, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Saturday

South Anchorage Market, corner of O’Malley Road and Old Seward Highway, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Spenard Market, Chilkoot Charlie’s parking lot, 2445 Spenard Road, 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

Anchorage Farmer’s Market, 15th Avenue and Cordova Street, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Eagle River Nature Center, 32750 Eagle River Road, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

YMCA of Alaska, 5353 Lake Otis Parkway, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Bird Treatment & Learning Center, 15510 Old Seward Highway, 9 a.m.-noon

Sunday

Alaska Botanical Gardens, 4601 Campbell Airstrip Road, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Eagle River Nature Center, 32750 Eagle River Road, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Alaska Mill & Feed, 1501 E. First Ave. 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Friday, June 2

Eagle River Nature Center, 32750 Eagle River Road, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Saturday, June 3

South Anchorage Market, corner of O’Malley Road and Old Seward Highway, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Spenard Market, Chilkoot Charlie’s parking lot, 2445 Spenard Road, 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

Anchorage Farmer’s Market, 15th Avenue and Cordova Street, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Potter Marsh Discovery Day, Potter Marsh parking lot at Seward Highway, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Anchorage Garden Club Plant Sale, 3734 W. 35th Ave., 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Wildflower Garden Club of Alaska Plant Sale, 1300 W. Benson Blvd. (old DMV office), 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Eagle River Nature Center Music In The Mountains, 32750 Eagle River Road, 6 p.m.-10 p.m.

Paddling Fun Day, Goose Lake Park, 2811 UAA Drive, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Sunday, June 4

Alaska Mill & Feed, 1501 E. First Ave., 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

The Daily News’ Emily Mesner contributed reporting.