For the Love of Nature: Tree Planting Gratifies Volunteers
Posted in Gardens and Collections, People on May 14 2009, by Plant Talk
Carol Capobianco is Editorial Content Manager at The New York Botanical Garden.
On the surface, one would expect that the dozens of volunteers who answered the call to help plant 1,000 trees and 50 shrubs in the Botanical Garden’s Native Forest April 24 and 25 did so in observance of Arbor Day or Earth Week or Hands On New York weekend or just because it was an excuse to be outside on a warm, sunny spring day.
But dig deeper—in a figurative way, that is, as we were all instructed by our deft leader Forest Gardener Anthony Copioli to dig only as deep as each tree’s root system to keep the root flare above the soil—and you’ll find that those worthy causes for the most part didn’t factor in to the motivational equation. What inspired these folks, instead, was much earthier: They came because they love gardening, the outdoors, and the Botanical Garden, some from as far back as childhood. There is something about touching the soil that touches the soul. Simply, they needed to be out here.
Take Garden Member Marco Burmester, for instance. He grew up on a farm in northern Germany and has missed the woods and gardening since he moved to New York City four years ago. He took the day off from his banking job for the opportunity to plant a tree once again. “I used to do this in my childhood; I’ve planted hundreds of trees in my lifetime.”
Ellen Alger of Montvale, N.J., and Irene Ryan of Nanuet in Rockland County, rode their bikes to the Garden as kids growing up in the area. “We received so much from the Garden that it’s nice to give back and to put our mark on it,” said Ellen, who is a Garden Member.
The two became planting buddies for the day with Board Member Julie Sakellariadis, who lives in Manhattan and visits the Garden weekly to walk the grounds. “I look for any excuse to come up here, to be outdoors with no phones ringing. There’s nowhere in the world so wonderful as The New York Botanical Garden.”
The other volunteers would agree. “This is an oasis; it’s awesome that it exists in this urban area,” said Paula Lawrence, Vice President of The Starr Foundation, a Garden Leadership Donor. She joined five other co-workers—half the Foundation staff—to dig holes, cajole tangled pot-bound roots, and plant with a purpose some of the hundreds of trees, provided through the MillionTreesNYC program, that would help in the restoration of the Native Forest.
The more than 100 volunteers—made up primarily of Garden Members but also tree care company staff members, their friends and relatives, the team from The Starr Foundation, a crew of 20 from Moody’s Investors Service and 20 New York City public school students with the nonprofit organization Christodora—were extremely helpful, cutting the planting time that would otherwise have to be done by staff by as much as 80 percent, said Anthony. But the event means more than having extra hands—it’s a bonding experience. “It engages the community and becomes more of an inclusive endeavor,” he said.
For some that relationship is otherworldly. It was the first time Member Brenda Mills had ever planted a tree, though her mother was a keen gardener and even talked to plants. So Brenda, along with her sister, cousin, and friend, did likewise, naming each of the trees they planted in the Forest after a relative who has “transitioned.” “We told the trees to make sure they grow, not to drink too much water, and that we’re going to come back and check up on them.”
Member Reiko Turner of Larchmont took it a step further and sang songs of her native Japan to the trees she planted. Her father was an avid gardener and orchid grower, and Reiko grew up playing among bonsai and other trees. But as an apartment dweller for 15 years, she’s been gardenless. This hands-on opportunity awakened her spirit. “This is fun. I’m so happy. I got the passion back.”
In the end all the trees were planted and the volunteers fulfilled and looking for even more practical experiences. And they may get their wish.
“Many hands definitely made lighter work,” said Jessica Arcate, Manager of the Forest. “I appreciate all the help of these volunteers and look forward to future opportunities together in restoring our wonderful 50-acre Forest.”
The 1,000 trees and 50 shrubs planted were all native species: red oak (Quercus rubra), white oak (Quercus alba), sweet birch (Betula lenta), red maple (Acer rubrum), serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis), pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia), tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica), flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), and spicebush (Lindera benzoin). Through MillionTreesNYC, 500 trees were provided by the Department of New York City Parks & Recreation and 500 by the New York Restoration Project through a grant from David Rockefeller and Bloomberg Philanthropies. The 50 spicebush were provided by the Garden’s Forest program and were not tall enough to count toward MillionTreesNYC, which requires a minimum height of two feet.
