Folsom Park and Adams Elementary are now home to a collective 50 new trees thanks to a group of budding arborists at Adams Elementary School. Fourth graders teamed up with Lincoln Parks and Recreation, the Arbor Day Foundation, student volunteers from Northeast High School, and our very own sustainability team to plant trees around Folsom Park and their school campus on October 8th.
Before students began planting, they learned the steps to properly plant a tree. Lincoln Parks and Recreation staff demonstrated how to:
1. Break up the root ball at the base of the tree to help the tree expand its roots and grow strong.
2. Check the depth of the hole so the tree is planted at ground level. (If the hole is too deep, add some more soil and perform the “dirt dance” until it’s flat!)
3. Place the tree and fill in the gaps with soil.
4. Surround the tree with mulch to prevent weeds and over-mowing
5. Name the tree!
After the students completed these steps, taking the occasional dance break along the way, Parks and Recreation stabilized the trees with wooden stakes and watered all the trees across the park.
After the demonstration, students got to work digging, planting, mulching, and, of course, dancing! Through their hard work, the 4th graders at Adams planted a total of 40 trees around Folsom Park and 10 trees on their school campus, getting down in the dirt to take part in every step of the process. The students enthusiastically shoveled dirt, spread mulch, and named their trees a variety of trendy, goofy, and tree-related names.
The names of the newly planted trees range from “Meatball” to “Jimmy Jr.” to “Leaficus” and “Woody”. These newly planted and named trees, thanks to the efforts of the students, will grow for years to come, providing shade and cleaner air for many generations of students and community members.
The Arbor Day Foundation provided gloves for each student, as well as the 10 trees planted on school grounds. Each of these new plantings will contribute to the growing number of trees in the LPS tree canopy. The tree canopy provides students with places to sit, beautiful scenery, and a healthier environment.
The newly planted trees, and many more, are mapped and recorded on our Tree Dashboard! The dashboard can be used to find the locations, species, and information about trees all across LPS.
LPS couldn’t be more grateful for all of the hard work of the Adams Elementary students and staff, and the amazing volunteers and community partners who made this planting possible.
Images courtesy of Arbor Day Foundation
Click here to view all photos.
