With help from some very generous donors we’ve been able to purchase about 60 trees for community plantings this spring. By engaging schools, community groups, and others we’re able to get more trees planted than we could alone, but also take the opportunity to teach people about proper planting, tree care, and the value of our urban forest.
The project started in early April with a trip to a native plant nursery in Norther Illinois (Possibility Place). We picked up about 115 trees for us and the Cambridge Tree Project. Some were small trees in 5 gallon pots, others were up to 1.5″ caliper, 10′ tall trees.
We’ve had the pleasure of planting trees with: 3rd graders at Lake View Elementary, volunteers at Community Groundworks, 5th graders at Shorewood Hills Elementary, Cub Scouts in Verona, Memorial United Church in Fitchburg, after-school kids at O’keefe Elementary, 5th graders at Lake View Elementary, and students from Badger Rock Middle School.
The event with Badger Rock was even more exciting because with help from Dane County Parks and Adam Alves, the kids were able to climb trees using the same equipment that arborists like us use on a daily basis.