The shovels were out and the dirt was flying at Loyalist Park on Saturday morning.
Living Green Barrie teamed up with BarrieToday for a community tree-planting event this weekend, when members of the community were invited to come out and help plant more than 300 trees at the park, located in the city’s southeast end.
“It’s a really good (opportunity) to educate the public about the importance of trees, especially in times like today where we are facing climate change. Planting trees is one of the best things we can do to tackle climate change,” said Sarah Herr, project assistant with Living Green Barrie (formerly Environmental Action Barrie), an organization that has been carrying out environmental projects throughout the city for more than three decades.
“It’s a feel-good activity for everyone … and it’s good for the planet.”
Trees planted Saturday are all native species and the goal is to plant 10,000 in Barrie, she added.
“There’s oak, spruce, pine ... and it’s mostly bare root trees today … They grow really well,” she said, adding more than 50 people had registered for the event.
Jamie Wells brought her three-year-old son, Elliot, to the park for a fun — and educational — mother-son day.
“We haven’t really had the conversation about why trees are good for the world and people, so I thought it was a great learning opportunity for him and for us to get our hands dirty while we are doing it.”
The Gamble family also came out to the park, looking to get their hands dirty.
“My wife is friends with the organizer and she thought it would be a good idea to join,” said Paul Gamble, while digging a hole with son Ethan.
“He loves to draw and we go through so much paper, so this is how we make up for it,” joked Kristen. “It’s just nice to get outside. The more trees, the better.”
Gita Cartwright sits on the Living Green Barrie board and told BarrieToday she was excited to get out and help the organization in this way.
“When people come out to help, it’s wonderful. All the little kids that are (here) helping their parents and they’re talking about ecology and biodiversity, and it’s super cute.”
The goal of the event, she continued, is to bring as much awareness to the organization’s initiatives as possible.
“We want to make sure we are building something sustainable. I think about my kids, my grandkids, and this way it helps to build some awareness. It does start in the community. That way we have a voice when we go to government and (we want) to make sure it’s an issue that’s always top of mind.”
Tree planting is one of three programs run by Living Green Barrie. Others include FruitShare and GreenScreen, and all three correspond with the organization’s 10 actions for climate.
“We have put out 10 actions for climate as a guide for anyone in Barrie or the surrounding area to take action on climate change. The action for May is ‘Plant Trees.’ The month of October is ‘Plant More Trees’ and we will have at least one community tree planting in October 2022,” said Herr. “Our goal is to plant 10,000 trees in Barrie. So far we have planted about 3,000 trees with a focus on planting native species,” she said. “Part of our tree-planting program is to educate the public on the importance of trees and how to properly plant and maintain trees.”
A second community tree-planting event is scheduled for May 15 at Shalom Park in Barrie and will run from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. To register, click here.
