Trees for Houston–and Huntsville!

One of the LEAP Ambassadors favorite events in 2022 was assisting the Boys and Girls Club with tree-planting, a project sponsored and supervised by Trees for Houston. So it was a special treat for the LEAP Ambassadors to work with City Fellows intern Lulu Lopez, staff from Huntsville Elementary, and community volunteers to plant two dozen trees on a Saturday morning.

We were able to meet Abby Clark (Development Director), Natalie Roberts (Volunteer Manager), Sarah Trippel (Assistant Project Coordinator), and Katherine Newton (Projects Director) for the first time, and we were pleased to work again with Travis Weedle (Project Coordinator) and landscape architect Falon Mihalic.

We went through a training session, led by Natalie Roberts with an assist from Travis Weedle…

…and then we got down to business:

…measuring the area to dig…

…digging…

…which occasionally involved a pickax…

…planting…

…and filling in. It was a great education, while also working toward a worthy cause.

Professor Yawn showed his age a bit, slowing down in the hot sun, but he soldiered on. Lulu and Morgan got the toughest soil to dig into, with rocks populating their area.

But with LEAP-grit, they finished the job. Cinthia and Olivia hummed along, finishing first; while Michelle proved herself a trooper, despite having a general aversion to manual labor.

And along the way, we formed additional relationships. We met the Principal and Assistant Principal of Huntsville Elementary, Christy Cross and Meolody Saladiner. We even discussed the possibility of future partnerships, particularly a potential collaboration on a “Mock Election” in the fall, which would serve to teach young people about the electoral process.

But the matter at hand was planting trees, and with approximately 30 volunteers overall, we were able to plant the mini-grove of maple, elm, and sycamore in a little more than two hours. It was a day of learning and, in more ways than one, planting seeds for the future.