Lockerly Arboretum handed out free plants to more than 250 people during the Sweetwater Festival. Greg Eilers, director of education, and fellow Lockerly employee Katie Schmitt distributed plants till 6 p.m. at the Lockerly booth.

“We stayed busy,” said Schmitt. “Compared to last year, when we gave out plants to just kids, we gave out plants to parents and kids.”

Milledgeville resident Louise Elliot and her mother visited the booth where Louise received a plant for her apartment.

“I have a plant stand at my apartment it’ll be really cool to have this” said Elliott, a GCSU junior. She and her mother visited the Lockerly booth where Eilers explained how to properly care for her houseplant.

“We had plants,” said Elliott. “They didn’t do too well, but we’ll try again.”

Eilers gave all the new plant owners tips and interesting facts about their plants. Ben Kukua, a fourth grader at Creekside Elementary, was given a Jade plant that, with proper care, will grow six feet tall and an Agave plant that will be six feet wide at the base.

“Jade is a popular house plant, and looks neat,” said Eilers. “Some of the first ropes in North and South America were made from Agave, which is very fibrous, and is still used to make ropes today.”

The booth at Sweetwater was just one example of Lockerly’s education program’s activities within the community. Schmitt said every Monday they spend time at the Baldwin Service Center giving autistic people an opportunity to spend some time outside.

“Monday we replanted pots,” said Schmitt. “It sounds simple enough, but it’s actually a big task.”

Thursdays the education program spends time with the Boys and Girls Club going on hikes and being outdoors. According to Linda Layne, Lockerly’s director of development, the education program has had 4,800 students this year and has seen a 74 percent increase since 2005. The education program is allowed to run because of donations to Friends of Lockerly.

Friends of Lockerly is a membership program within Lockerly. To gain membership, contributors make a donation of $30 per individual or $45 per household. Businesses can become event sponsors or even champions of Friends of Lockerly by making larger donations. Members receive a quarterly newsletter, reciprocal garden privileges to 200 arboretums and botanical gardens across the nation, and recognition in the Friends of Lockerly annual membership report.

Special discounts in stores throughout Milledgeville, Bishop, Winterville, Eatonton, and Greensboro are also awarded to members.

For more information on Friends of Lockerly, call Linda Layne at (478) 452-0830 or e-mail lindalayne@lockerly.org