Families plant 50 trees at Anson Nixon Park

Nearly 50 volunteer families and friends planted trees at Anson B. Nixon Park Saturday morning.

KENNETT SQUARE » The Longwood Rotary Club partnered with the Kennett Area Park Authority (KAPA) to sponsor a family “Plant-A-Tree” day this past weekend at the Anson B. Nixon Park in Kennett Square.

As part of the Park Authority’s beautification initiative, nearly 50 volunteer families and friends arrived on a brisk cold Saturday morning with shovels, rakes, picks and trowels to fill the pre-dug 3-feet square by 2-feet deep holes. Each of the 50 mature trees were eight to twelve 12 feet tall and weighted between 200 and 300 pounds each.

Each family was assigned a tree by Rotary’s Community Service Chair, Dawn Talley. “We provided each family with a description of the tree type they were planting and a certificate of completion for the PlantA-Tree Day. Many people asked about joining our Longwood Rotary Club, so we also shared information about our many community service projects we do in the Kennett Square area and around the world.”

According to Richard Lyon, Park Authority President, “Our first challenge of the morning was breaking through the frost covered dirt that had hardened due to overnight temperatures in the 20s. Once we broke through, it was a lot easier to roll the big tree balls into the large holes, straighten the tall trees and then cover them up with dirt that had come from the predug holes.”

Families who helped plant the trees can now watch their trees grow as the family and children grow up. “It becomes a meaningful lifetime experience for everyone,” said Lenny Rivera, President of the Longwood Rotary Club.

“These newly planted trees help improve air quality, provide habitat for wildlife and generally make us feel good. We are planting for the future as we have some dead and dying trees in the park. We are working to replace them with trees that have both longevity and beauty. The trees planted today were also selected for their flowers, form, fruit and fall color,” Lyon said.

Project Chair Dave Haradon also shared, “We truly appreciate the Park Authority allowing us the opportunity to support their efforts to help make our community a better place for everyone. This was a lot of fun for everyone and involved a lot of adults and children in our community.”

Tree types planted included: White Oak, Burr Oak, American Hornbeam, Constellation Dogwood, Stellar Pink Dogwood, Okame Cherry and Red Sunset Maple.

Information about the Anson B. Nixon Park can be found at www.AnsonB. NixonPark.org or by joining the Longwood Rotary Club at www.LongwoodRotary.org.