Belated Post, forgive me!
On April 17, 2011, I went (by my lonesome in the group! which was actually a serious accidental disaster…) to Kensington. The bus was late (thank you SEPTA) but we arrived (I went with SEA–Students for Environmental Action) almost on time. I signed a waver for my safety, went to group number 2, and loaded trucks with six trees, 15 gallons of water, clippers, prunes, special growth seeds, and more.
The community was really accepting to the help. There were team leaders for each group, from Philly Tree People, and also prominent community members.
What I learned in particular, was the mechanics of tree planting.
- a healthy tree needs water every day (duh)
- in my group, we planted six trees
- the root flare needs to be a little above the ground when planting
- trees should be chosen according to how high they will grow
- a hole should be dug for the space of the roots
- pruning trees and clipping bad roots are especially good for roots; if it’s dead or will go out in a different space, then it is okay to trim
- spread a white gelatin into the soil for growth and nutrients; also, to fight bacteria
- put gardening soil on top at the end to help the tree and for aesthetic appeal
What we learned in Kensingtion, to our surprise
- the ground had a lot of topsoil
- there could possibly be needles (BE CAREFUL)
- they cut out the wrong sidewalk (but it all worked out)
- randomly, there was a hammock in this plot of land
- community members were generally interested in the tree planting and requested certain trees in front of their houses
- it was difficult to find house numbers because most places were not labeled
- we celebrated our success by going to the local brewery
That was basically my day in Kensington! I volunteered for four hours and it was worth it.
April 17, 2011 for 4 hours
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