We Planted Some Trees!

Sometimes you just need to get outside and play in the dirt! Supporting the local community is one of Hunt Street Station’s core values. We regularly schedule clean up days and other volunteer opportunities to help contribute to the surrounding neighborhood. Last week, we teamed up with our neighbor, St. Paul AME Church and an awesome non-profit, The Greening of Detroit, to help plant dozens of trees along Hunt Street. A lot of great folks from UPS, who helped sponsor the event, also came out to get this green project done in no time.

Why Trees?

Trees are an amazing asset to the local environment for so many reasons. We all know that they absorb carbon dioxide and create the oxygen we breathe. But trees do lots of other things too! Trees also help with storm water management because their roots absorb a tremendous amount of moisture. With more trees, there will be less flooding during big summer rainstorms. Big, mature trees also help shade the local neighborhood to keep sidewalks, parks, and houses cooler during the hotter months of the year. And lastly, trees help promote biodiversity, giving all sorts of animals a home and food source. As you can see, we’re all in for trees!

The Trees Arrive

The day before our big planting event, a big truck arrived on Hunt Street to drop off 25 beautiful young trees. Most were sporting a big root ball, with dirt held in by a burlap sack like you’ve probably seen before. But some of them were called bare-root trees. These required different planting techniques that the Greening of Detroit team helped us with. We were super excited to see all the trees that were about to start calling Hunt Street home!

Where We Planted

Our new trees were planted in three primary areas. The first area was along Hunt Street, from Gratiot to Chene. As they grow, they’ll help return Hunt Street to its former glory as a beautiful, tree-lined street. Another big group of trees was planted in the grassy lawn between Hunt Street Station and St. Paul’s church. And finally, a few trees were planted in the back corner of our parking lot as we develop a second outdoor green space for our members to gather. What is now a big block of grass and buildings will one day become a small forest of beautiful trees.

Planting Day

On planting day, we were blown away to see over 40 volunteers arrive, ready to dig! Our friends from St. Paul AME Church along with their Pastor, Tammy Harris, came out in force to help and also provided snacks and refreshments to everyone. The local UPS team, who have an amazing commitment to the Detroit community, did an amazing job recruiting volunteers to roll up their sleeves and lend a hand. After a quick demonstration, where we learned how to dig the right size hole and how to get the tree planted straight, we broke up into teams of 3-4 people to get started. It was a lot of fun and a great workout too. And with so many helpful hands, it only took about two hours to get all 25 trees planted and watered.

How Can You Help The Community?

Do you have an idea to help restore and beautify the Hunt Street neighborhood? We’d love to hear about it. Send us a message or call our front desk and we’ll do our best to help bring your idea to life!