LEXINGTON, Ky. — Lexington Parks & Recreation is marking National Parks & Recreation Month in July with a slate of summer camps, concerts and community events, as well as a fifth consecutive year of special product releases from local businesses that will fund new tree plantings across the city.

July is one of the busiest months for the city's parks division, which oversees more than 100 parks and natural areas. The month includes Fourth of July festivities, golf courses in full swing, community center activities, public pools, and various nature programming.

The business partnerships are new this year in their scale. Four local establishments — North Lime Coffee & Donuts, Wild Lab Bakery, Chaotic Good: Coffee, Comics & Games, and Burl Brew — will each feature collaborative releases throughout the month. A portion of proceeds from each release goes to Trees Lexington, a nonprofit dedicated to increasing the city's tree canopy, which works with businesses and the city to select appropriate parks and tree species for planting.

"National Parks & Recreation Month is something we look forward to celebrating each year with a calendar full of events and programs for people to enjoy," said Monica Conrad, director of Lexington Parks & Recreation. "July is always an exciting and full month for us, beginning with our Fourth of July festivities to kick things off."

The National Recreation and Park Association designated July as National Parks & Recreation Month beginning in 1985. The month-long celebration encourages residents to explore and enjoy local parks, events, programs and facilities.

Through previous years of collaboration, Lexington Parks & Recreation and Trees Lexington have planted 53 new trees across 13 different parks. "Through the success of the collaborations over the past four years, we have planted 53 new trees in 13 different parks," said Paul Hooper, information office supervisor for Lexington Parks & Recreation. "We can't thank the businesses this year enough for their support of our parks and look forward to adding more trees around Lexington."

Trees Lexington seeks to increase the city's tree canopy from its current 25 percent to 30 percent within the next 10 to 15 years. The nonprofit works with community members on tree plantings and maintenance, focusing efforts in areas with the lowest existing canopy coverage.

For a complete schedule of July events and programs, residents can visit lexingtonky.gov/parks.