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For the fourth year, AdventureServe Ministries is planning to distribute seedlings Friday in honor of Arbor Day.

With the ongoing health concerns from the coronavirus pandemic, things will look a little different this year.

AdventureServe Executive Director Andy Bathje said Tuesday the organization is working on plans with the Jessamine County School District to hand out the chokecherry saplings Friday when children pick up their lunches at the schools.

Those details had not been finalized as of press time.

“In the past, we normally had about 100 elementary students who came down to our camp property and do environmental education,” Bathje said.

Afterward, there would be a couple of trees planted on the property.

This year, Bathje planted a yellowwood tree Monday for a video.

“Our plan is to have the video ready for teachers to add to their virtual curriculum,” Bathje said.

The program is partially funded by the Kentucky River Authority, he said, which also covers restoration for about a mile of Jessamine Creek as it flows through Wilmore.

The pandemic has had its own effect on AdventureServe.

“We’ve had to cancel programs, and there are concerns about our sustainability after this,” he said. “Normally we’d be getting ready for staff training. We’ve got multiple groups scheduled for June. We’re in a waiting phase like much of the economy.”

Still, there are some positive effects, partly in cleaner air and water around the globe.

“It’s a silver lining,” he said.