Tree planting is first of its kinds with Bellmore-Merrick school district

Students, educators and environmentalists gathered on Aug. 14 to plant 22 trees at the Merrick Avenue Middle School before classes are back in session, in just a few weeks.

“It’ll bring the kids outside so they can learn about the species of plants,” Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District’s director of school facilities and Operations Jon Simpkins said. “We’re definitely looking to get them involved when they come back to school, to come on out here and talk about the importance of trees.”

The planting will not only help the children during the coming school year, but for generations to come. “These trees will be here for hundreds of years,” Simpkins said. “It’s great to be part of something that we’ll be seeing for decades.”

The planting was made possible by a partnership between Merrick Avenue Middle School, plant nurseries, the environmental organization Wild Ones and the ecological landscaping business Wild by Design.

Wild Ones is a national organization that replants trees in areas affected by plant removal. Fred Nass, president of the Wild Ones New York Metro Region Chapter, described the project as having educational value that goes beyond the classroom.

“It can become an educational experience, not only for students, but for the parents to go back home and say, ‘I need to be doing this to my own property,’” he said.

“We see it as a win-win: the district cooperates and gets beautiful trees, we volunteer to plant them and maintain them, and the people in the community benefit because of all the benefits of trees,” said Wild Ones volunteer Louis Paolillo.

Wild Ones has succeeded with tree-planting partnerships before with small businesses, but this recent planting marks an important milestone.

“This district’s department is the first major organization to agree to work with us to save Merrick’s trees, and we really appreciate that,” Paollilo said. “We’re hoping that this will start a snowball effect in other districts, in Merrick first, and then in other towns.”

Wild Ones formed a Long Island chapter a few years ago, in response to an increase of tree removals. Around the school, Paollilo said he noticed several areas of land where trees have been cut down.

“I counted, within one mile of the North Merrick Public Library, I counted over 95 trees cut down in the past, I personally counted five coming down here and another six on another piece,” Paollilo said. “It adds up.”

“If we continue at this rate, there will be no trees left very soon,” local environmentalist Andrea Martone said.

Tree removal is often done due to fears of tree limbs falling, annoyance with leaves, or for aesthetic purposes. But, with every stump left behind, the leaf canopy shrinks, said Greg Fine, owner of ecological landscaping business Wild by Design.

“We’re just trying to replenish some of that lost canopy so that we don’t lose more wildlife,” Fine said. “If we keep removing habitat, then we keep taking away their places to come and we will no longer have them.”

Trees play several important roles in suburban areas, he added. Trees catch dust and other particles kicked up by wind and blunt the impact of flooding by absorbing rain. Their presence can mitigate effects of climate change by providing much-needed shade for houses and roads in increasingly warm summers.

“It’ll turn into a hotter environment, because we’ll just have more cement, more pavement, more light pollution,” Fine said. “Trees help prevent flooding, increase our oxygen levels, provide habitat for our native wildlife and birds, and bring us beauty.”

The community will gain from these benefits for as long as there are trees in the community, Fine explained.

“One tree is going to provide all this habitat long after we’re gone,” Fine said. “If we collectively take on that job as shepherds of our planet, we make it a much better place for all of us, not just our generation, but for generations to come.”

Matt Walden, a volunteer at the planting, recently retired from tech-industry entrepreneurship in New York City. Since then, he became an active member in local environmental movements.

“We want the neighborhood to have the nature and character of the neighborhood we moved into,” Walden said. “I think  the school’s a great start.”

For Walden, plantings like these are a perfect opportunity for the community to rally around a great cause.

“I’m somewhat of a tree hugger,” Walden said. “I proposed to all the schools in the neighborhood, on Arbor Day and Earth Day, they should do a $2 collection from all the students, and I personally said I would match the trees that they plant.”

The planting was made possible through working with Claire McNair of Bell Nursery, a New Jersey plant growth facility, who worked with Home Depot to give the district discounted trees. They provided pin oaks and red oaks, which are indigenous to the area’s ecosystem.

For more on Wild Ones, and to learn about future initiatives, visit WildOnes.org, or email wildoneslongisland@gmail.com.