Posted April 3, 2023
The Plymouth High School Green Team is hosting a community tree-planting event to help offset the school’s annual energy consumption.
“Our goal is to plant 350 saplings around Plymouth, which would offset 420 pounds of carbon our school emitted from electricity and gas last year,” the team said. “We look forward to making our community more sustainable!”
Parents, grandparents, and other community members can order saplings, available for $5 each, online at http://tpevents.org/school/3016. Orders are due Wednesday April 12.
Three Wisconsin-friendly varieties are available through a partnership with the nonprofit Tree-Plenish:
- Red Maple: This is a widely adaptable, large tree common to the woods of eastern North America. A red tinge can be found in its flowers, twigs, and seeds, but it is most notable for the scarlet of its leaves in fall. Red maple needs plenty of room for its dense, spreading root system. Fall color can be yellow rather than red, so select a cultivar bred for red fall color. It can reach a height of 40-60 feet and a width of 35-45 feet.
- American Sycamore: This is a grand, stately shade tree for a larger site. It has broad green leaves but is most recognizable by its peeling bark, which has patches of white and gray. Native to the Chicago region, sycamores have very high wildlife value, attracting a wide range of birds that use the tree for many purposes. It can reach a height of 75-100 feet and a width of 50-70 feet.
- Flowering Dogwood: This is a small to medium woodland understory tree, native throughout most of the eastern United States. Showy white, red, or pink flowering bracts appear before the leaves in early spring. Dark green summer foliage turns a brilliant reddish-purple in fall. It is sensitive to adverse soil and environmental conditions such as road salt and pollution and best planted in acidic soil. It can reach a height of 20-40 feet and a width around 20 feet.
Saplings can be picked up Friday May 12 by those who wish to plant their own trees. The team hopes to have student volunteers available to plant saplings around the community Saturday May 13.
Learn more:
• Order tree saplings at http://tpevents.org/school/3016.
• Visit the Tree-Plenish website at https://www.tree-plenish.org/
