ECHS Landscape Management Students Plant Trees At Sunman Elementary

The tree planting was part of the on-going EC RE-LEAF program.

Photo provided.

(Sunman, Ind.) - On Tuesday November 9 and Wednesday November 10, forty East Central High School Landscape Management students planted 20 native deciduous trees on the campus of Sunman Elementary School. The East Central FFA Chapter received a $1500 grant from the Ripley County Community Foundation to complete the project.

The tree planting was part of the on-going EC RE-LEAF program. EC RE-LEAF was developed by the East Central FFA Chapter and it includes all of the students in Landscape Management, Horticultural Science, and Natural Resource Management classes. The goal of EC RE-LEAF is to plant more native tree, shrub, and herbaceous perennial species on the campuses of Sunman-Dearborn Schools, and to promote the planting of native species throughout the Sunman-Dearborn Community.

Sunman Elementary once had over 40 beautiful Ash trees on its campus, and in recent years it has lost most of them due to the effects of an invasive insect, the Emerald Ash Borer. This initial tree planting will help to replace half of the tree canopy. Species planted include Tuliptree, Eastern Redbud, Scarlet Oak, Princeton Elm, Black Gum and River Birch. Planting a variety of tree species as opposed to one will be better able to withstand pest populations while providing some needed biodiversity to help native wildlife species.

Students provided all of the labor. At each planting location turfgrass was removed, planting holes were dug approximately twice the diameter of the planting container, trees were planted with the root flare of the tree level with the existing grade, existing soil was back-filled around the roots, plants were firmed in, a soil berm was created to catch rain, and trees were mulched with 2” of Cypress mulch.

Landscape Management students will provide continual care to these trees over the years. This is a project that we can all be proud of in the Sunman-Dearborn Community.