Kinsmen Park in Martensville got a little greener last weekend, thanks to the efforts of about 60 budding arborists from Valley Manor and Venture Heights schools.
Working alongside team members from Zak’s Home Hardware Building Centre and City of Martensville parks staff, Grade 7 and 8 students planted 140 trees in the eastern section of the park on Friday, June 2.
The trees were donated by Zak’s as part of its commitment to protecting the environment, according to Zak’s dealer-owner Wyatt Zacharias.
“We think it’s important to give back to the communities” said Zacharias. “This is our third community tree-planting event. We did one in Warman and another in Hague.
“This year we selected Martensville. We have 140 trees, and we like to get local students involved in the project. It’s important for the next generation to learn how to plant and care for trees.”
Zacharias said each year, Zak’s donates 25 per cent of its profit from lumber sales back into reforestation efforts and greening communities.
“These are all trees we sell at our garden centre,” said Zacharias. “This represents our contribution from our profits from last year. We think it’s only right that we put resources back into the communities.”
Martensville Parks and Facilities Manager Don Crowe said the donation of trees will go a long way toward improving the park.
“We place the trees where it works best for each particular species,” said Crowe. “We have some larch that tend to like the water so we planted them close to the storm water reservoirs. The majority of the trees are lindens, which is more of a formal tree, so we kept them basically for lining the pathways.”
Crowe said the majority of the city parks staff are younger, seasonal workers from the City of Martensville and area.
“It’s a rare opportunity to plant this many trees at one time. It’s also a good education and great experience for the staff,” said Crowe.
He said the holes were pre-dug by city workers prior to the planting. There was considerable planning to ensure the planted trees complemented the natural areas.
“Trees are an essential element of a park,” said Crowe. “The nice thing about having kids involved with this project is that now, whenever they walk through this park, they’ll look at the trees differently.
“They’ll know they had a hand in planting these trees, and they’ll take pride in having made their community a nicer place to live in.”