A Lot of Thanksgiving Pie Offset by 750 Trees Planted!

More than 45 volunteers, aged 10 to over 70, came out on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and planted 750 trees in the Port Gamble Forest Heritage Park. There were Advanced Placement Biology students from Kingston High School, Environmental Science students from Olympic College, Geo-cachers, Kitsap Parks Forest Stewards, as well as many individual forest lovers who just want to make the planet better.

Way to go, all of you!!

After meeting up at 9am at Bay View Parking Lot, we all carpooled to the target planting area, past both clearcuts and overstocked Douglas fir plantation tracts. Volunteers got a short tutorial on the whys of ecological thinning for forest health and the hows of planting cedar saplings from Arno Bergstrom, Kitsap County Parks Forester Emeritus. Then people spread out in teams with shovels and buckets of baby trees, and set to diversifying the forest.

Many thanks to Mr. “Wood is Good” Chuck Holland (in the blue smurf cap) for the above video of the day’s activities!

Eventually, everyone worked their way back to the assembly area and partook of hot spiced cider, bagels & cream cheese and homemade cookies.  The weather was beautiful and a good time was had by all.

We at Our Forest Fund so appreciate the goodwill and energy of all the volunteers, and we are sure that the wildlife and the trees do, too!

There will be another tree-planting event in January, possibly in South Kitsap. Be sure you are signed up for our email list so you don’t miss out!