Dear Future Forestry Friend,
Welcome to the 2020 Planting season. We plant during the rainy season because we plant so many trees that we could not keep up with watering all of them on a regular basis.
Skyline Self Storage is buying/sponsoring eight hundred Slash Pines for us to plant. This is good news for our city and good news for our future. It takes a few years to really see the results, but the results will be phenomenal.
I will be hosting tree plantings every Saturday starting June 13th and running for the next 5 Saturdays.
Please set aside two or three of these Saturdays and let me know which dates are good for you. I’ll fill in a spreadsheet and follow up with you.
Think of other friends that might like to come with you. If you bring a shovel, use a sharpie to write your name on it. Bring a wheelbarrow if you have one. Here are some other suggestions. Gloves. Sunblock. Hat. Work shoes or work boots. Lots of water. Cortisone is good for treating aunt bites. Bug spray. We work from 8am to 10 or 11am. Because of the heat and the rainstorms, we try to get done as early as possible.
Middle schoolers and high schoolers are ideal for this work. You won’t have to hold their hand, and they are less likely to run toward the roadway. ? Seriously, they can earn community service hours and it’s a great way for them to see the fruits of their labor over the coming years. We will have a Forestry day planting for all ages including toddlers and elementary kids. At that event we will be planting trees and bushes and flowers.
We are looking for other sponsors and grant opportunities. We still have a need to help us buy more trees for the second half of the rainy season.
All this good can be undone if even one of us gets sick. So, we will be working in smaller groups and social distancing. I am open to other ideas that will keep everyone healthy. These events are a great opportunity to meet others that care about our community and willing to share their time. I’m so glad to be able to work with all of you and thank you in advance.
Breathe Easy,
Russ