Students recycle Christmas trees
Recycled Christmas trees were turned into mulch courtesy of the city’s Urban Forestry Department and Boyd Christian’s National Honor Society.
Friday morning student volunteers visited the three drop-off sites and loaded Christmas trees into their trucks. According to urban forester Nick Kuhn, the trees would be “composted and reused as mulch around the city.” Because the Boyd students volunteer their time and vehicles, Kuhn said, “It doesn’t cost the city anything to recycle the trees.”
Boyd students didn’t stop with recycling. In the afternoon they began scouting sites to plant new trees courtesy of a federal grant through the Urban Forestry Department. Urban forestry will provide the trees and Boyd’s National Honor Society will provide the labor.
National Honor Society sponsor Twan Majors said this is an important project because often there are trees near homes and businesses but not near the front of the property by the street. Because many assume it will require extra effort on their part, she stressed that these trees will mean no extra work for the homeowner. “You would be surprised how hard it is to get someone to take a free tree,” said Majors.
The trees will be planted free of charge, and watered and mulched for a year free of charge. “If there is a problem with the tree and it dies or becomes diseased, urban forestry will take care of it and replace it for free,” Majors said.
Boyd students are required to take a class from a certified arborist before they even pick up a shovel, though many of them are already experienced tree planters.
“There is a lot more to planting a tree than digging a hole,” Majors said.
Once sites are chosen, Kuhn will decide the proper tree for each site and the planting will take place in April. After planting, the trees will be monitored by urban forestry to make sure they are not harmed by mowing or trimming.
To participate in the free tree program, call the Urban Forestry Department at 474-TREE.