As John F Kennedy once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you-ask what you can do for your country”. But I pose another question-what can you do for Earth? Sure, we have Earth Day where we’re supposed to stop and reflect on ways we can benefit Earth but that’s one day of the year. We should be celebrating Mother Earth every day of the year and by celebrating I mean actually DOING things to benefit the planet. And that’s exactly what me and a few pals did recently…
I’m part of a hiking group called the Garden State Wilderness Warriors and we travel the great state of New Jersey and sometimes beyond to explore nature and everything the planet has to offer to us. Today’s itinerary-Planting trees in Rosedale Park in Pennington, New Jersey followed by a hike afterward. This was a park that I’ve never been to before and I was excited to check it out but way more excited to plant some trees! Sure, Earth Day had passed but anytime you can show some love to Mother Nature I’m down! This was all able to happen due to Roots for Rivers. Roots for Rivers is a grant opportunity provided by the Watershed Institute. The Park commission was a recipient of the grant.
We all met up early around 7 AM where one of the guides told us we’d be walking to the site (around a 10 minute walk). The path and forest leading up to the planting site reminded me Stephen King’s “Pet Sematary” for some reason. I’m not sure why but for some reason that’s how I thought it would feel for the Creeds walking through to get to their hell or shall I say the pet seminary. All kidding aside the forest was pretty beautiful.
When we got to the area, there were a few guides who showed us exactly what we had to do. We were in the middle of a huge, open field with separated by these long It all seemed complicated at first but once me and the crew got the hang of it we were planting trees left and right like it was nobody’s business! I thought to myself, “I could do this everyday and they wouldn’t have to pay me”! It was a great experience being able to get out in nature, hang out with friends and help a worthy cause. We planted all different types of trees some of which included Sycamores, Red Maples, Red Oaks, Pussywillows and so many more! It was tons of fun and it’s honestly been one of the most rewarding things I’ve been able to do this year, for sure. I definitely recommend everybody to go out there and volunteer some of their time to these service activities. A little time and effort goes a long way and I’m grateful for the opportunity. One day I’ll go back and check out how our trees our doing. By that point they’ll be gigantic breathing beasts and I’ll be proud to say I played a part in it.
Special thanks to Alex Rivera for the info about the types of trees we planted and info about Roots to Rivers.
Cheers,
Dylan