HOWELL – Over 100 trees and shrubs were planted at Easy Street Park with the goal to create a community wildlife habitat.
A group of local volunteers gathered their shovels and gloves to team up with the Howell Shade Tree Commission members to plant protected greenery along wooded areas of Easy Street. It took about two hours for volunteers to plant over 100 trees and shrubs.
“With impending rain all of our volunteers worked fast and we were able to get all of the planting accomplished in under two hours!” said Lisa Doud, who chairs the Howell Shade Tree Commission and directed the planting event. “This initial planting is the first step in creating a Community Wildlife Habitat on Easy Street.”
The National Wildlife Federation’s Community Wildlife Habitat program enables cities, towns and communities to become greener and more wildlife-friendly. The goal of a Community Wildlife Habitat Garden is to advocate and build up plants and trees native to the area. In addition, the purpose of the community garden is to work on reducing or eliminating the use of pesticides and chemicals in vegetation.
Amongst the volunteers planting trees was resident Dawn Van Brunt, who is the creator of Howell for Open Land and Preservation of the Environment (HOPE). Van Brunt, who continuously advocates for environmental preservation in the Township, explained how it’s important to hold planting events throughout the community since many are cut down for developments.
“I was very thankful for the community turn out for the planting with short notice! We very much look forward to more events and plantings in the spring. Love seeing people come together for the greater good,” Van Brunt said.
Last fall, the Howell Environmental Commission hosted a “Roots For Rivers” Community Tree Planting Event where local residents volunteered to plant over 700 trees across Winston Park.
“The Shade Tree Commission will be back in the spring to continue with more planting,” Doud said.
For more information on how to volunteer, check out the Howell Township Shade Tree Commissions Facebook page, facebook.com/Howell-Township-Shade-Tree-Commission-101668778576801.
