Scouts unite on Earth Day for annual tree-planting effort
Trevor Berger, Holmes County Soil & Water Conservation District director, explains which trees go into which portion of the swamp along the Holmes County Rails to Trails near Walmart in Millersburg.
Quite a few years ago, young Cub Scout Brodie DeHass helped plant trees in celebration of Earth Day.
That experience never left his mind or his heart, and now DeHass is the president of Scouters of Holmes County.
His desire to continue that tradition lives on, as it does in the hearts of many.
While Scouts and others were busy planting trees alongside Holmes County Rails to Trails near Walmart in Millersburg on Earth Day, Monday, April 22, the message of all involved extended far beyond what was taking place on that given day.
That message was a simple one: Every day is Earth Day.
A total of eight area Scouting troops united Monday, April 22 near the Walmart exit of the Holmes County Rails to Trails in Millersburg to plant 100 assorted trees that were planted specifically because they can thrive in the swampy area near the trail.
For the fifth year, Scouters of Holmes County led the effort to plant trees on Earth Day.
“Our aim as Scouts is to do a good turn daily, and this day continues to be a very important part of Holmes County Scouting,” DeHass said of the tree-planting ceremony that saw groups of troops head out into the swampy areas surrounding the trails armed with tools and trees. “I still remember when I was a Scout when I was 12 years old and we planted trees for Earth Day, so it always stuck with me because it is important. That was my inspiration for this event, and hopefully, it will inspire these young Scouts too.”
Scouters of Holmes County took over the reins of this program five years ago and combined it for all of the area Scouting troops so individual groups didn’t have to sweat the details and could simply show up and go to work.
In teaming up with Holmes Soil & Water Conservation District, which supplied the 100 trees, it was a nice team effort. Several leaders including DeHass, SHC board member Scott Biltz and Holmes SWCD watershed coordinator Karen Gotter provided examples of how the trees should be planted properly.
In addition, SWCD provided a Douglas fir tree starter for each of the Scouts to take home and plant.
With close to 100 Scouts and leaders showing up to plant trees, it didn’t take long to complete the task at hand.
Before they started planting, SHC led the presentation of the colors, and the Scouts said the Boy Scouts of America pledge along with the Pledge of Allegiance.
After the opening ceremony, the Scouts learned how to properly plant trees and where each breed of tree needed to be planted in the swampy areas.
“It’s about planting the right trees in the right place,” Gotter said. “We can’t just plant anything out here. It’s going to be very wet, and there will be things that won’t do well, so one thing we are going to do is plant trees that will thrive where they are planted.”
Gotter then defined some of the species of trees being planted. Swamp white oak and black elderberry both thrive in wetlands, and Gotter said deer don’t like to chew on elderberry in particular.
“We want to attract wildlife, but we don’t want the deer to eat all of our hard work,” she said.
Other species included Ohio buckeye trees, catalpa trees with huge leaves and quaking aspen, which were planted in the drier areas of the land. Each Scout troop was given a map of the area where each specific tree was to be planted.
Holmes County Park District Director Jen Halverson spoke to the Scouts about completing the project on Earth Day and the role the trees will play in benefiting the ecosystem including the removal of invasive species of shrubs.
“I hope that every time you go for a walk on the trail, you can remember this property and the work you did on it,” Halverson said. “We’re going to have a great wetland, and I’m excited you can all be part of this.”
Biltz said seeing this big turnout was exciting, and it is something Scouts around the nation take seriously each Earth Day.
“We have planted more than 1,000 trees as part of this project over the past five years,” Biltz said. “Most of them are in the former fair grounds, but we did do a big project last year all over the county. Our mission is to reforest the county as well as possible.”
He said it enhances the area both aesthetically and in terms of aiding the ecosystem in many ways.
Finally, everyone involved was fed well, with grilled hot dogs and apples.