Landscape Students Plant Trees at North Dearborn Community Park

Tuesday, November 11, 2025 at 10:43 AM

By Travis Thayer @eagle993

Nineteen ECHS students helped with the project.

Photo provided.

(St. Leon, Ind.) - East Central High School Landscape and Turf Management students recently planted 10 deciduous trees at the North Dearborn Community Park, which sits on the former site of North Dearborn Elementary School.

Nineteen students took part in the planting event, adding to the 12 trees that were planted at the park in December 2024.

The students worked with Brenda Wheat with North Dearborn Community Park to select planting locations. Plants and mulch were ordered from Natorp’s in Mason, Ohio. Funds to plant trees were a result of fundraising efforts that the agriculture department raises through its annual plant sale as well as through selling various shop-built projects throughout the year.

Students removed grass from the planting areas and dug planting holes. Each tree’s roots were inspected for circling roots, and if needed a box cut of those roots was performed to encourage future root growth to do so horizontally. Students backfilled the holes with soil making sure trees were straight. Trees were mulched inside a 4-foot diameter tree ring and watered to thoroughly soak the roots and surrounding soil.

Post planting the students will continue to monitor how the trees are doing and provide mulch each year as well as any corrective pruning each tree may need.