News Photo by Julie Riddle
Workers collect water from Lake Huron to water trees during a tree-planting event in Rogers City, Saturday.
ROGERS CITY — A pile of tiny trees — and the willing hands that patted them into the ground — could someday protect Lake Huron and the people who love it, environmental workers believe.
About 30 people dug holes, dumped fertilizer and filled in dirt. They also spread mulch and carried water to plant 500 tree saplings in a patch south of Rogers City’s Little League fields.
Organized by the Presque Isle Conservation District and nonprofit environmental agency Huron Pines, the planting will, as the trees grow, provide filtration via the trees’ roots for stormwater running across the wetland into Lake Huron.
Organizers said that such hands-on activities can also foster an emotional connection between residents of the area and their environment.
“Look at you. You’re a small army,” said Brittany VanderWall, district forester with the Presque Isle Conservation District, encouraging the eager workers on Saturday. “The Rogers City tree army.”
News Photo by Julie Riddle
A Rogers City volunteer plant a tree on Saturday.
Huron Pines funded the balsam-fir, white cedar and white birch plantings alongside dozens of pink, chartreuse and orange flags that were spread across the property owned Carmeuse.
“Holy schmoley, that’s a lot of flags,” said a participant, setting out with a handful of small trees and a wheelbarrow of Dairy Doo.
VanderWall provided guidance to volunteers on how to dig the holes and how to plant them. She also reminded them to water their saplings well with water from Lake Huron.
Shovels easily sink into sandy soil, which is sparsely covered by scraggly groundcover and the occasional spindly Evergreen tree.
VanderWall stated that the new trees may not grow as strong as the trees in their homes.
News Photo by Julie Riddle
Brittany VanderWall (district forester, Presque Isle Conservation District) pulls a sapling form a bag at the start of a tree-planting event in Rogers City on Sat.
Some may die, and the rest may stagnate at their current size for several years — but, she said, the survivors will eventually grow and help protect the lake from chemicals carried in stormwater runoff.
“I know one tree is one tree,” VanderWall said. “But every little bit makes a difference, right?”
Doug Davidson, a resident of Indian Lakes, dug his shovel into soil he described as cat litter and drove to Rogers City to plant the trees.
Huron Pines has helped him make the property more sustainable and healthy for the environment. He now wants to help the organization in its work around the world, he said.
Some of the day’s young volunteers may someday be able to walk with their own children among the trees they planted, Davidson said.
News Photo by Julie Riddle
Rogers City workers plant trees on Saturday.
Events like Saturday’s tree planting aren’t only about the trees, said Amy Nowakowski, coastal program manager for Huron Pines.
Rogers City was the first event in a new Huron Pines initiative, the Protect Wild Places Program. This program aims to increase engagement by physically connecting people to the outdoors.
The volunteers’ willingness to give up a Saturday to plant trees shows that people in Rogers City have an emotional investment in their lakes and rivers, Nowakowski said.
“I think they really care,” she said. “They love where they live.”
Rogers City resident Abby Johnson, who pats mulch around young trees together with her daughter, plants approximately 1,000 trees each year.
News Photo by Julie Riddle
Rogers City workers plant trees on Saturday.
She explained that planting a tree is looking beyond the immediate.
“Anyone who plants a tree plants with hope,” Johnson said. “You don’t ever plant a tree if you aren’t hopeful about the future.”
Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693 or [email protected]. Follow her Twitter @jriddleX.
News Photo by Julie Riddle
Rogers City workers plant trees on Saturday.
News Photo by Julie Riddle
Rogers City workers plant trees on Saturday.
News Photo by Julie Riddle
Brittany VanderWall is a district forester for the Presque Isle Conservation District. She teaches a group of volunteers how they can plant 500 trees in Rogers City, Saturday.
