🎥 City will load you up with free mulch Sat. morning

The free wood chip pile is located at the Hays Parks Dept., 1546 Highway 40 Bypass.

By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

The city of Hays will offer a free mulch loading event Sat., June 8 at the Hays Parks Department, 1546 Highway 40 Bypass.

A city employee will be on hand 8 a.m. to noon with equipment to load large quantities of wood chips into pickup beds and trailers, according to Jeff Boyle, director of parks.

Water Conservation Specialist Holly Dickman says the chipped trees make great organic mulch, a critical part of a watersmart landscape.

“Organic mulch, like wood chips, placed around plants helps to keep the soil cooler in the heat of summer, reduces evaporation from the soil surface, and limits weed competition,” says Dickman. “In addition, it breaks down over time adding organic matter to the soil which is beneficial for our heavy clay soils.”

The wood chips, ground from dead trees recovered by the Parks Dept., are free to pick up any time.

Dickman and Boyle hope to have another free loading event in the fall.