Students plant trees in honor of veterans
Wes Wolfe / Staff Writer
Nov 14, 2013 at 12:01 AM Nov 14, 2013 at 10:48 PM
Girl scouts and Boys and Girls Club members volunteer at garden
Some of the children planting trees at a community garden Monday never handled a shovel before.
Now they have, and about 50 trees are ready to grow at the garden and learning center organized by Common Ground ENC near the intersection of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and East Grainger Avenue.
Members of Girl Scout Troop 979 and the Lenoir County Boys and Girls Club lent a hand.
�The group we have here is the Torch Club, it�s the leadership group of the Boys and Girls Club, from ages 11 to 13,� said James Mumford, an activity leader with the Boys and Girls Club. �Basically, it�s part of their civic duty to come out here and try to (implement) everything we�ve been trying to teach them about being productive citizens and giving back to their community.�
Gathered before leaving the garden, children with the club expressed how they didn�t think they�d have as much fun as they did, and that it was the first time they�d planted a tree.
Common Ground CEO Lee Albritton said the effort was possible through a $5,000 grant from the Alliance for Community Trees and railroad company CSX. The group wanted to involve community organizations in the effort and also reached out to local Boy and Girl Scout troops.
The Boy Scouts had a scheduling problem, but Hannah Thompson-Welch brought Girl Scout Troop 979 to help out. Thompson-Welch also works with the state Forest Service.
�It was good � we have a lot of small girls, so just teaching them the proper ways to plant a tree so they can plant trees for their lifetime,� Thompson-Welch said. �They all enjoy it, because I told them this morning that each year, each person needs to plant at least 12 trees just to recoup the things they use from trees every year.�
She added, �It�s a big benefit to them to learn the process already. And they�re just interested in doing anything community-service based.�
Several scouts expressed their displeasure at the chilly morning temperatures, but said the trees were important for their ability to generate oxygen and serve as a renewable resource.
Albritton said overall, the group has to engage 45 volunteers and plant 130 trees to fulfill the requirements of the grant. They�ve also been given software that tallies the trees� benefits to the community in terms of dollars.
Volunteers planted a number of types of trees, including American hornbeam, longleaf pine and tulip poplar.
�We�re basically planting a flood plain, so we�re planting native species than can have their feet wet, in case this (area) were ever to flood again,� Albritton said.
There are tentative plans to make the �plant a tree for a veteran� event an annual Veterans Day occasion.
The anticipated final round of plantings funded by the ACT-CSX grant are set to occur Nov. 23.
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 and Wes.Wolfe@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @WolfeReports.
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