Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell recently threw out the first pitch at a Potomac Nationals baseball game during their Forest Service Night Out in Woodbridge, Va.
The event publicized the Break a Bat/Plant a Tree partnership between the Potomac Nationals—a Class A Advanced Affiliate of the Washington Nationals—and the Forest Service.
The agreement calls for a tree to be planted on the George Washington-Jefferson National Forest for each bat broken during Potomac Nationals home games. Through the first 17 home games this season, 18 bats have been broken at Pfitzner Stadium – a pace that could mean 80 trees planted after the season.
This follows the partnership between Major League Baseball and the Forest Service’s Forest Products Lab in Madison, Wis., which is focusing on making the game safer. Since the partnership began in 2008, there has been a 50 percent reduction in broken bats in ball games during the last three seasons.
For information about participating in the tree planting ceremony or in the Break a Bat/Plant a Tree effort, contact the Forest Service at 1-800-832-1855
