Volunteers help with Community Tree Planting Day – InkFreeNews.com

Two Davey Resource Group employees, pictured in fluorescent jackets, train volunteers on tree planting.

Text and photos
Deb Patterson
InkFreeNews

WARSAW. It was a chilly Saturday morning today, Nov. 2, during Warsaw’s Central Lake Tree Planting Day, but that didn’t stop about 30 volunteers from coming out and helping plant trees along the new paths in Central Park and to extend the line of trees in Bixler Park along SR 15, north from the tennis courts.

The biggest problem was not the weather, but the hardened ground due to the drought. The goal was to plant 28-30 trees, but after 45 minutes, very few volunteers were able to remove more than a few inches of dirt.

The event was the result of the city receiving a grant for about 100 trees.

Among the volunteers were people who brought a friend or two with them, some were families. One family had a son in Cub Scouts. Another family wanted to do more volunteering for the city and get their children involved in volunteering, thinking it was a good start.

Matt Mason, right, hops on a shovel to continue removing topsoil to plant one of the trees along SR 15 in Bixler Park. From left, Sam Mason, cub scout, Melanie Mason and Ellie Mason, all performing.

Jackson Longenbaugh, assistant city planner, explained that the city sought a grant through Indiana University’s Institute for Environmental Sustainability last fall. Iris Sorrell, the IU graduate student who led the project, explained further. “This is part of the McKinney Climate Fellowship through IU through the Institute for Environmental Sustainability,” Sorrell said, adding that the funds came from a USDA grant.

She went on to explain that the USDA determines the cities that will be part of the grant, and Warsaw applied. The downtown meets the USDA plan.

Longenbaugh noted that “a lot of our parks come under this jurisdiction, and we thought it was a good opportunity to plant trees here (Central Lake) for everyone to use in the future.” He noted that 100 trees will be planted around parks in this jurisdiction, as well as in some private areas. Between now and December, trees will also be planted at Fribley Field, Richardson-DuBois Park and Hire Park.

Sorrell, who worked with the city from May to August, along with Larry Plummer, park superintendent, determined where the trees would be planted. She also coordinated a poll on what kinds of trees people would like to see. She said when the area was delineated and how many trees were left. She accessed the map again, found additional seats in the private area, and went door to door.

Some of these areas include: Trinity Methodist Church, Animal Medical Center, the Chamber of Commerce building north of the former Marsh building on Winona and Warsaw Meadows.

“It’s all coming together today so they can be planted right now,” Sorrell said. Davey Resource Group will plant the remaining trees and maintain all trees under the grant for the next three years. After three years, responsibility for those in city parks and private property owners will fall to the parks department.

The trees are mainly flowering ornamentals, with a few larger trees. Some of the trees include Allegheny, American hornbeam, tulip poplar, black ash, white oak and river birch. “They’re all native and perfectly suited to the site they’re on,” Longenbaugh said. Sorrell added that the survey showed that most people want flowering trees. “They look really good downtown,” she said.

Longenbaugh said planting trees in the park is a good opportunity to “raise awareness of downtown trees, trees in the urban environment. Getting volunteers to help is super cool.” He also said it was “a great chance to create a tree canopy that will benefit everyone here in Warsaw.” There are so many benefits to trees in general. …

“We really don’t have many wood resources in our city. We don’t have an arborist. We don’t have programs like that,” Longenbaugh said. “I think getting this (grant) has really helped and I hope we can create some awareness, initiatives similar to the awareness initiatives for city grants, whether it’s tree care, tree removal, invasive species or just planting more trees.”

In addition, Sorrell stated, “The biggest thing we’re looking at in this area, if you get the view from above, is a lot of asphalt and concrete. They absorb so much heat … so the trees can: shade the area more, especially along these walkways, which is what we’re after, and it (the tree) actually reflects more light back … helps with cooling. The shade often cools the area by almost 10 degrees more than when in the sun.”

Warsaw has not been designated a Tree City, but Longenbauch noted that there has been discussion about applying for such a designation. However, he is still learning what this designation actually means as a resource. “This is our first step toward more environmental programs or service here in the city.”