Arbor Allies Plant 49 New Trees for the City

The Springfield Arbor Allies planted 49 new trees for the cityscape over the past 3 weekends.  The Arbor Allies in collaboration with Keep Springfield Beautiful and Peter Pan Bus Lines increased the environmental quality of life in Springfield with 3 separate planting projects this year.  The first community planting project this year was at Gerrish Park and Cherry Lane Cemetery in the Six Corners/Maple Heights on Saturday May 1^st.  Volunteers from Springfield College Americorps, Phoenix House, Youzie Organization and Community Members all totaling 40 volunteers came and lent their support.  They planted 6 Redbud Trees, 4 Sycamores and 2 Elms ‘Princeton Variety’ all along the grounds of Gerrish Park at the Six Corners intersection.  Then they made their way over to Cherry Lane Cemetery to plant 5 Cherry Trees and 2 Elm ‘Princeton Variety’ along the grounds of the cemetery for a total of 19 trees.  On Tuesday May 11^th, twelve students from Sabis Charter School planted 4 trees across from Peter Pan Bus Terminal.  They planted 2 Saucer Magnolias at Transportation Park and 2 Green spire Lindens in the median across from the terminal.  The final planting project this spring was in Indian Orchard where we planted 26 trees up and down Main St.  The volunteers from the Phoenix House all arrived thanks to Peter Pan Bus Lines for providing their Double Decker bus to get the Phoenix residents to and from the planting.  The volunteers also came from Indian Orchard Boy Scout Troops, Sabis Charter School, Central High School and Community Residents.  The volunteer total was over 50 and Laura Walsh a new Park employee helped manage all of them to plant the 10 Pin Oaks, 3 Elms ‘Colonial Spirit’, 6 Zelkova, 4 Pears ‘Cleveland Select’, 3 Lindens along Main St. in Indian Orchard.  Many people who passed by commented on how lovely the trees look and what a great thing we are doing for the city.  The reason the Arbor Allies volunteer their time is because they know the true meaning of the trees not only makes sense economically but also from a community aesthetic point of view.  If you would like more information about the Springfield Arbor Allies please visit our blog page @ arborallies.blogspot.com