By Pamela Steinbach
 With all the benefits of trees, it’s a shame that 36 million acres of natural forests are lost each year. In 1991, Mark Ringenberg, Carsten Retrum and others established Hoosier ReLeaf to promote local planting so we in northeast Indiana are able to enjoy the many social, environmental and energy-saving benefits trees provide.
Mark Dolezal, the current president of Hoosier ReLeaf, says, “When a new plaza or subdivision takes out trees and I see urban sprawl and pollution, it helps to know we are getting more trees planted to produce oxygen and purify the air. It’s good to know we are helping nature.”
The Hoosier ReLeaf nursery in Leo provides trees to schools, parks, churches and other organizations. It recently helped beautify Grabill’s streets, parks and library with 20 flowering crab and pear trees and planted as many as 50 trees on the property of Grace Fellowship Church in New Haven.
Hoosier ReLeaf does more than plant trees, however. It also educates students, scouts and any group wanting to learn firsthand at the nursery and work sites how to plant and care for trees. See Hoosier ReLeaf’s website at hoosierreleaf.org, or call 260.497.9781 or 260.489.4614 to volunteer and learn at their growout station (tree nursery). You could plant trees, pull weeds, move trees, prune and more.
The organization also is involved with the green Habitat for Humanity house to help students and volunteers identify existing trees on the heavily wooded lot. Hoosier ReLeaf will advise on which trees to keep and how to protect them throughout the construction process so trees can enhance the beauty of the site and provide energy savings with their shade.
Several of the coupons at the back of the Green livign Guide have Hoosier ReLeaf’s logo, which means that the vendor has agreed to give a portion of the sale from those purchases to Hoosier ReLeaf. By purchasing a guide and using those coupons, you will help to support the air quality and beauty of our area.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 11 March 2008 16:04 )
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