TreesCharlotte taught me how to plant a tree. You should try it
This past weekend, I took it upon myself to give back to Mother Nature in honor of Earth Day, which is officially today (the 45th anniversary, in fact!). I planted some trees.
Charlotte is known for its trees. Seriously, we’re called the City of Trees (okay, so we might share that title…).
I signed up through TreesCharlotte, which wants to ensure that Charlotte’s tree canopy flourishes even as urban development expands. It’s got BIG plans: to plant 15,000 trees a year until 2025.
(That’s a whole lotta trees.)
Aww … baby trees!
That morning, I saw all the baby trees we were supposed to plant. There were a lot of them, but hey, if you want to get to 15,000 you really must commit, you know?
After I checked in (and got my free t-shirt!), I scanned the crowd. We had a pretty diverse group. There were employees from Belk, Crescent Communities and Duke Energy as well as UNCC students. I saw some kids run by already covered in dirt, so we pretty much covered all the age brackets.
Before we got started, Executive Director Dave Cable gave us a pep talk: I wasn’t just building up the tree canopy, I was providing homes for songbirds and their avian cousins. I was helping out the birds, yo!
Trees can’t plant themselves
My Tree Crew consistent of Jessica, Pete and Amy –and we rocked at planting trees. I must say digging North Carolina clay is tough, so I was beyond happy that it had rained all week. It took our entire group a little over 2 1/2 hours to get our zone done. (Are you impressed? You better be.)
Needless to say, I’m pretty proud of how it turned out.
This is the part where you come in
Unfortunately, the next tree-planting event isn’t until October. However you can still help in other ways. TreesCharlotte currently needs administrative help at their offices or would love to help you become a Tree Master (do it!).
Want to help preserve Charlotte’s natural beauty? There are several nonprofits dedicated to keeping Charlotte beautiful and healthy:
Surfrider Rider Foundation Charlotte: Focuses on ground protection of oceans, waves and beaches.
Carolina Thread Trail: Regional network of greenways, trails and waterways.
Catawba RiverKeeper Foundation: Protects the Catawba/Wateree river basin
Catawba Lands Conservancy: Wants to conserve 50,000 acres of land by 2030.
Clean Air Carolina: Fights air pollution.
If you’re not sure where to start, begin with ShareCharlotte.com to get connected to nonprofits serving Mecklenburg County.
Photo: Robert Lahser/Charlotte Observer
This story was originally published April 21, 2015 at 1:11 PM with the headline "TreesCharlotte taught me how to plant a tree. You should try it."