Minder Maida plants 5,000 Trees!

​​When Maida told us she was heading to Wisconsin to plant trees for a long weekend, we had to get more details. We were gobsmacked when she said that she and her family planted 5,000 trees on their family’s property. She says, “The main reason my dad wanted to do this was to reduce his carbon footprint and help the earth. Within the last few years my parents have made improvements to their house to go green like switching out their furnace and air-conditioner with a geo-thermal heating/cooling system so all these trees were just another step.” How cool is that?

They worked with a local nursery and planted red and white oak, butternut, black walnut, white pine, cherry, hazelnut and hickory. I was impressed by their order of 5,000 trees, but when they went to pick up their trees they were overshadowed by another costumer picking up 200,000 trees! She says, “The process for planting consists of shoving a spade, called a spud, into the ground about 8 inches or so deep and wedging the dirt away from the hole. (That took a lot of effort which made the feet ache.) Then you stick the tiny little tree in the hole, making sure all the roots are beneath the soil line, and use the spud again to wedge the dirt back around it to secure it in the ground. You do this by shoving the spud back into the ground about an inch in front of the tree. The hands and low back were other areas this work was felt.” (I would imagine planting 5,000 trees would be felt!)

What an awesome way to spend time with your family! I want to be invited to their next tree planting weekend. (Maida, care if I come to Wisconsin?)

And to think I was proud of myself for planting a single tree outside of our rowhome in Bella Vista! But Philly residents, take note! Every bit helps. And greening our urban neighborhoods is quite easy and FREE. Philly homeowners are eligible for free trees and the City will even cut the cement for the tree hole. Check out TreePhilly for more information about getting a free tree planted in front of your home!

#Minders