Lead a Tree Planting Project

Overview
Trees provide a great benefit to the environment. They provide habitat for local
animal species, shade and shelter for livestock and other animals, a reduction of
CO2 in the air, and produce oxygen as well. Here are a few more facts that
demonstrate the benefits of planting trees:

The planting of trees means improved water quality, resulting in less runoff
and erosion. This allows more recharging of the ground water supply.
Wooded areas help prevent the transport of sediment and chemicals into
streams. USDA Forest Service

One acre of forest absorbs six tons of carbon dioxide and puts out four
tons of oxygen. This is enough to meet the annual needs of 18 people.
U.S. Department of Agriculture

The net cooling effect of a young, healthy tree is equivalent to ten roomsize air conditioners operating 20 hours a day. U.S. Department of
Agriculture

Suggested Age Group(s)

Children, teens, adults
Activity Time: 3 hours (depending on the amount of trees)
Materials Needed:
Required:
Shovel
Scissors
Access to water
Trees
Mulch
Gloves
First aid kit
Hand cleaner
Optional:
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Snacks for volunteers

Drinking water for volunteers
Access to restroom facilities
Camera for taking pictures
Volunteer Sign in Sheet

Project Instructions
1. Educate Yourself
Contact local experts by calling your nearest Cooperative Extension
office at ://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/, your state Department of
Natural Resources office, or your county or city governments offices to
ask about current state and local conservation efforts. Ask if they are
aware of any upcoming tree plantings scheduled. Ask if they have a
specific targeted location in your county or city that needs attention. Ask
for their advice for how you should get started implementing a tree
planting project. They might be able to link you up other groups or
organizations that can help you plan and implement your project.

Research trees native to your area. It is important to plant native trees as

they are more likely to survive in the local environment and they also
provide a benefit to local wildlife. For a guide to the trees and plants
native to your area, visit at ://www.plantnative.org/ or Gardening at
://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-5-18-980,00.html.

2. Identify Partners and Leaders

Call your friends, family, and coworkers and ask if they would be
interested in helping plan and implement a tree planting project. You can
also ask schoolteachers, community leaders, local businesses,
government, faith-based and non-profit organizations to lend their
support and ideas. Also, dont forget to check with your local HandsOn
Action Centers to see if they can support your efforts as well. These
partners may have materials and resources you can use for your project.
Select the link to find your local HandsOn Action Center.
://www.handsonnetwork.org/actioncenters/maps

After you identify partners, it is important to identify leaders who will

assume some responsibility for tasks associated with your project. Be sure
that you take time identifying partners and leaders that can assume
responsibility for caring for the trees at least 2 years after they are planted.
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3. Set a Location
Sometimes talking with local experts and partners will lead you to decide
on a specific location. In other instances you may decide on a location
based on your knowledge of a specific area in need. If you are still having
difficulty finding a location for your planting try to contact your city or
county government, school, faith-based communities, or non-profit
organizations and ask if they have a need for this type of project at their
property.

Arrange a meeting with the staff or volunteer lead and conduct a site
visit. Be sure you do your research and verify that you are planting trees in
a safe area that is conducive to providing a healthy habitat for a tree.
Make sure there are no power lines in the area. Is the area going to get
enough light? Will it get too much water? Always contact Miss Utility (1800-257-7777) at least 48 hours prior to planting to verify that the area is
safe for planting.

4. Develop Your Plan and Prepare Your Site

As you continue to establish your project, ask yourself the following questions to
create a coherent plan:

Where can I get funding for the project supplies, trees and tools needed
for the project? Remember to buy local to support the local farmers and
economy.

What resources are already available in the community to use?

Where can I find volunteers who would be excited about such a project?

How do I get the message out about the project?

Do I want to attach learning to this activity? If so, be sure and check out
the Trees the Trappers service learning activity at the end of this resource.

Who will secure landowner permission? Note: Landowner permission is

very important. If it is a public site then be sure to secure a letter from the
government approving your activity. If it is a private site, be sure to speak
with the landowner and secure approval in writing.

How will you pre-register volunteers so you will know how many people
are going to engage in this project?

Helpful Hint: HandsOn Action Centers can help you with preregistering
volunteers. You can also use an online free resource called VolunteerSpot
which will help you at communicate and pre-resister volunteers.
://www.volunteerspot.com/.

Do I need to have help from other volunteer leaders? Can I assign tasks to
those individuals to help me manage this project?

What is the timeline for this project? When will your project begin and
end? Will it be recurring? Because the trees will need to be maintained
over the course of two years, who will lead this effort? Where will
volunteers meet the day of the project? How will volunteers get to and
from the project? How long will the project take?

Will you want media coverage? How will you promote your event?

Helpful Hint: Be sure and check out the HandsOn planning tools and
templates at
://www.handsonnetwork.org/volunteers/gethandson/toolkits to better
help you document your plan and timeline.
5. Empower Youth Leaders
If you are working with youth on this project, keep in mind that the youth
voice is a key component in offering a high-quality youth project or
program. Young people should have an influence on the project. Allow
young people to suggest ideas for the current and future projects.
6. Promote!
Recruit volunteers (adult and youth). You may want to print fliers, publish in
local newsletters or newspapers, send emails, and use social media to
mobilize your networks. Use whatever medium you can to get the word
out and engage people in your effort. You can do this yourself or with the
help of partners and leaders youve found in the community.
7. Lead the Project

Register and orient your volunteers

Provide a sign in sheet for volunteers. Secure emergency contact

information and have them sign any appropriate waiver forms. Be sure
and review safety procedures and project instructions with volunteers.
Facilitate learning
If you have youth volunteers and it is appropriate, lead the Trees the
Trappers service learning activity located at the end of this resource. If
your volunteer population is mostly adults, then you can lead a discussion
about the benefits of planting trees, why the specific location is important,
and on the impact that the trees will have on the local environment.
Helpful Hint: Check out the National Tree Benefits Calculator to help you
estimate the benefits that trees provide. Locate the calculator at
http://www.treebenefits.com/calculator/index.cfm

Dont forget to provide clear instructions to your volunteers for how to

plant the trees. Let them know who their point of contact is if they have
any questions during the planting process.

Plant the trees

Follow the following instructions provided by the Maryland Department of
Natural Resources Forest Service @
://www.dnr.state.md.us/forests/treemendous/plantinginst.html.
Be sure you plant the tree in the right place.
1. Dig hole 2-3 times as wide as container or root ball.
2. Dig hole no deeper than height of new trees root ball. Top of
root ball should be level or slightly above soil surface. Better 1
too high than 1 too low!
3. Remove container, cut large and circling roots. Gently pull and
loosen outside roots from the root ball.
4. Place tree in prepared hole, being sure the tree is straight up
and centered in the hole.
5. Do not add soil amendments such as manure, fertilizer or peat
moss.
6. Backfill hole with original soil, breaking up clumps and tamping
firmly as you go. Do not tamp on the roots, only around the roots.
Remove soil from grass clumps. Do not replace grass in hole.
7. Apply 4 of mulch to entire disturbed area. Do not let mulch
touch the tree trunk.
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8. After tree is planted, water to settle soil and minimize large air
pockets.

Mulching

Retains soil moisture

Suppresses weed growth
Moderates soil temperatures
Improves soil fertility
Eliminates need for mowing and weed trimming around base of trees

Apply 4 of mulch evenly to the entire disturbed surface area around the tree.
Avoid mounding mulch. Keep the mulch 2 clear of trunk to avoid creating
favorable places for pests and rotting of bark.
Watering
Water for recently planted trees is essential! Some water is better than none, but
3-5 gallons a week, if it doesnt rain, is ideal. Water slowly to avoid runoff.
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Consider building a drip irrigator to take the hastle out of watering,

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Tree-Gator-Water-Bag/
Browning, wilting, scorch, and dieback are most often caused by lack of water.
Dont wait for signs of moisture stress to show before watering.
Fertilizing
You may begin to fertilize your trees the second year after planting to improve
growth rate and density of foliage. Apply slow release fertilizer late September to
early November. Broadcast about lb of 33-0-0 (nitrogen) per 5x5 area from
the trunk outward. Or apply a balanced fertilizer (nitrogen, phosphorus,
potassium and micronutrients) according to the manufacturers label.
Remember, too much fertilizer will injure your tree!
8. Reflect and Recognize
After your project, take a few minutes to reflect on the project with the
volunteers. You can lead the volunteers in a group discussion with
questions such as:
o Why did you volunteer today?
o What did you learn about the environment and helping the community?
o What is the one thing you will remember most about this service activity?
o How can you continue to make a difference in the community?

Dont forget to thank your volunteers, partners, and supporters. They

deserve it! It is always a good idea to send a follow up letter or email to
your volunteers and volunteer leaders to thank them for supporting the
project and once again reminding them of the impact of their
contribution. You may want to take time to invite them to another service
project for which you are participating or leading in the upcoming
months. Be sure to post information and pictures on your facebook wall
to let participants and others know about the project so they can
celebrate with you online!

Sources:
Watershed Activities to Encourage Restoration
://www.watershedactivities.com/projects/fall/plantree.html
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Maryland Department of Natural Resources Forest Service

://www.dnr.state.md.us/forests/treemendous/plantinginst.html
Resources
VolunteerSpot
http://www.volunteerspot.com/

Service Leader Toolkit

http://www.handsonnetwork.org/volunteers/gethandson/toolkits

HandsOn Action Centers

http://www.handsonnetwork.org/actioncenters/map

Trees the Trappers: A Service Learning Activity

Source: This project was submitted by John Smucker, the Founder and Director
of Streamlink Education and Service Leader for HandsOn Frederick County
located in Frederick, MD. http://stream-linkeducation.blogspot.com/
Educational How to Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCWHYQuwGEw
Purpose: To highlight benefits of riparian vegetation in remediating the effects
of pollutants, sedimentation, and nitrification on our waterways.
Suggested Age Group: Children, Teens, Young Adults
Suggested Skill Level: Easy to Moderate
Supply List:
A blue tarp
A brown tarp
A leaf blower
Duct/masking tape
3-4 sheets of brown, blue, red, and green construction paper to total
12-16 sheets of paper
Project Instructions:
Setting Up

Cut the brown, blue, red, and green sheets of paper into approximately
2x3 squares for around 30 pieces of each color.

In permanent marker write the letters P (pollutants) on the red pieces,

H20 (water) on the blue pieces, N (nitrogen) on the green pieces,
and S(soil) on the brown pieces.

Spread out the brown and blue tarps so that the brown tarp overlaps
of the blue tarp. The blue tarp should resemble a river buttressed by the
brown tarp, its banks. Spread the squares throughout the brown side of
the tarp

Procedures

When the volunteers arrive, ask them to list the environmental benefits of
trees.
Ask the students what they think the various pieces of paper represent.
Then explain what types of pollution the difference colors of paper
represent and the specific impacts each type has on the environment.
Helpful Hint: Use the Chesapeake Bay Program website as a resource to
help you describe the various pollutants.
http://www.chesapeakebay.net/status_pollutants.aspx?menuitem=19795

Ask one student to stand on the brown tarp telling them they will represent
a tree, and ask 3-5 students to stand on the blue tarp telling them they
will represent rain drops.

Explain that the tree student will pick up as many pieces of paper as they
can without moving and the rain drop student will pick up as much paper
as they can while being able to move but without crossing over the brown
tarp.

Set the blower on medium-high and blow the papers to the blue tarp
letting the students pick up the paper as described above.

Turn off the blower when finished and compare the numbers of paper
collected by the tree versus the number collected by the rain drop. Jot
down this data on a pad of paper.

Ask the students how they think they might keep fewer pieces of paper
(pollution) from getting to the blue tarp.

Arrange the pieces of paper throughout the brown tarp as previously, and
add 3-4 more students to be trees on the brown tarp while still leaving 34 on the blue tarp, telling them to collect the paper as before.

Set the blower on low-medium, blowing the paper to the blue tarp and
letting the trees/ raindrops collect the pieces of paper.

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Jot down the numbers of paper collected by the trees versus the numbers
collected by the rain drops, and compare this data to the data from the
first trial.

Discuss how trees and vegetation help in remediating the effects of

pollutants, sedimentation, and nitrification on our waterways.

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