Planting for the future
For 4-H, good things come in trees
Columbia County 4-H, with the help of volunteers and master gardeners, planted 300 trees in three different county parks Saturday.
With a grant from the National Tree Trust, white oaks, white dogwoods and Eastern red bud trees were planted at Patriots Park, Riverside Park and Savannah Rapids Pavilion.
"I found this little grant through one of my environmental news letters," said Carol S. Jackson, the project coordinator of the event. "I thought it would be a great project for 4-H."
The National Tree Trust is a national nonprofit organization that educates communities on how to grow and care for urban and community forests. The grant the organization provided Columbia County 4-H consisted of 1-year-old, regionally appropriate tree seedlings, two-gallon plastic containers, and money to pay for soil.
"It's a great project for instilling community service and it helps the environment," said Jackson. "Plus, one of the stipulations of the grant was that all the planting be done by volunteers."
However, the bitter cold may have kept some volunteers away. Jackson said the turnout was less than what she hoped.
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Despite the light attendance, Jackson said that she was thankful for those that did come and the first annual event was an invaluable learning experience.
"Next year, I'll make sure to publicize the event more and to work more with Columbia County Clean and Beautiful and the Sierra Club," she said. "This is the first time I've ever attempted anything of this magnitude and I'm glad I did. Now we just have to wait and see how the trees grow."