Milan Volunteers Plant 40 Trees for the Future

Milan volunteers dug into wet clay soil May 1 to plant trees they may never see fully grown.

The planting brought about 40 volunteers together to add 30 trees at Milan Nature Park and 10 trees at Wilson Park, according to Mayor Ed Kolar. Volunteers included elected officials, business owners and residents from throughout the community. Coffee and doughnuts were provided before the work began.

Kolar told volunteers the trees are part of a long-term investment in the city, comparing the work to seeing old homes framed by mature trees.

“I like to talk about when I go by an old house and I see a field and a house, and there’s 100-year-old trees that are all nice and big,” Kolar said before the planting. “Somebody 100 years ago planted those trees knowing they’d never see them grow, but they would want them for the future.”

He said the same idea applies to the trees planted Friday.

“We may not see them when they’re fully grown, but we’re impacting the future of Milan and the trees and the parks,” Kolar said. “What we do now is gonna go on for 100 years, whether we see it or not.”

The project was coordinated through ReLeaf Michigan, the City of Milan, the Milan Beautification Commission, Milan Parks and Recreation, the River Raisin Watershed Council and the U.S. Forest Service.

The planting was part of a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative tree planting project funded by the U.S. Forest Service. ReLeaf Michigan said the Milan event also was part of a larger River Raisin watershed-wide stormwater project, with 25 trees planted in Tecumseh the next day and another planting planned in Adrian later this month.

ReLeaf Michigan is Michigan’s only statewide tree-planting nonprofit organization. It works with communities and volunteer groups to rebuild urban and rural tree canopies and teach volunteers how to plant and care for trees.

A watershed is an area where rain and melting snow drain into streams and rivers. In the River Raisin watershed, that water eventually flows into Lake Erie.

According to the city’s event announcement, Milan is planting trees to increase tree canopy, support the watershed environment, provide shade and replace trees lost to insects and disease.

Lydia Lopez, water stewardship coordinator for the River Raisin Watershed Council, thanked volunteers and connected the planting to the health of the river.

“We’re all downriver of someone, and you guys are helping not only yourselves, but everyone downriver of you,” Lopez said. “So thank you from us, and thank you from the river.”

At Wilson Park, Marvin Pettway, a lead project forester with ReLeaf Michigan, showed volunteers how to handle the trees, remove packaging materials and avoid planting too deeply. Volunteers were told to look for the tree’s root flare, where roots begin to spread from the trunk, and keep that area near the surface.

Volunteers then broke into teams to plant and mulch the trees. Species planted included sycamore, hackberry, American hornbeam and black gum.

Jill Tewsley, Milan’s community engagement director, checked in volunteers before they headed out to plant.

Kolar and the Milan Beautification Commission credited Jay Sinclair for his time and dedication in helping coordinate the project with ReLeaf Michigan. Kolar also thanked the Beautification Commission, Milan Parks and Recreation, the city’s Department of Public Works and the volunteers who came out to help.

The first 40 trees were planted this spring, with 35 more native trees expected around the city next spring.

“Milan is definitely a town full of great volunteers,” Kolar wrote after the event.

Featured photo: Volunteers work together to plant a tree at Wilson Park during Milan’s tree planting event. Photo by Heather Finch