A collaborative tree planting event in Alexandria by Devon Reese
Today was an unusual day in Alexandria’s Mt. Jefferson Park. A four-part collaboration (between the City’s Urban Forestry department, Tree Stewards of Arlington & Alexandria, the Alexandria Beautification Commission and the Arlington Master Naturalists), inspired more than two dozen people to lend a hand in planting trees. By noon, 22 native saplings were in the ground – from dogwoods to white oaks to sweetgums and hackberries.
Russ Bailey, an Alexandria Tree Steward known for his dedication to spreading trees around the City, led the event off with a demonstration of how best to plant a tree. With Tree Steward Steve Geiger, Dean Amel, and Chris Ehrich, he showed how to loosen the soil around the roots with a pickaxe or other tool. Said Steve, “It doesn’t matter if some of the roots get chopped. The tree has lots of roots.” Russ emphasized that the flare at the base of the trunk needs to breathe. City arborist Phil Jubert explained that most of the trees that die after getting planted are suffering from the flared root top getting buried under soil.
Even for experienced tree planters, there was something to learn. Emily Swaim from the Alexandria Beautification Commission, who had many times planted trees in her backyard, commented that “the demonstration was awesome. I learned that you have to pull the roots out before you plant it.” And volunteer Sarah agreed that “I definitely learned more hands-on details on the techniques” for planting trees.
Once the first tree – a white oak – was in the ground, Russ and Chris showed how to mulch around it, stake it for support, and water it. Then the fun really began.
From the southern extent of the Park where it meets Commonwealth Avenue to the northern extent of the landscaped area, volunteers spread out with pickaxes and shovels to prepare selected spots for planting.
Glenda, a Tree Steward trainee, explained that “we’re preparing a hole by cleaning out all the grass on the surface right now. The grass will compete with the tree, taking nutrients from its roots.” Noreen Hannigan – a certified tree steward and master naturalist who headed one of the training groups – added, “and then if we replace the grass with mulch, rainwater will be able to get down in there.” Then, I overheard them discussing whether they should remove every last bit of grass.
Many of today’s volunteers were from a new training group of tree stewards. For some, it was their first time planting a tree, like Heather, who brought her husband and two friends along. There were a merry group, who laughed at how they had originally planned to spend the day hanging out a winery but chose to do the hard labor of planting trees instead.
(husband) Ian: “I will say that I had a workout scheduled, and I got my workout here! I ride my bicycle on this path and I look forward to some shade.”
Max: “It’s actually a nice opportunity to hang around with your friends, a good friend activity. It might be good to go to a brewery after this.”
Heather: “One thing that’s fun is that we took a picture and we’re going to come back in 10 years and see the difference we made.”
Heather was not the only person projecting the impact of the day’s tree planting into the future. As tree steward trainee David carried stakes, he reflected on something he’d heard from one of the trainers, that “with all the terrible things going on in the world, if you plant a tree in the ground you’ve done some good.” Another trainee, Gilberto, who grew up in Brazil, said that his motivation for participating was to “decrease my CO2 footprint in the world.”
In one group that had just finished a planting, Ken Krupa (with the Alexandria Beautification Commission) waxed philosophical about the experience. “I’m proud,” he said, “I was one of the people helping plant 275 trees for Alexandria’s anniversary. At the Ecocity event at the NOVA Alexandria campus, we distributed 275 seedlings… I’m a senior citizen now and I’m hoping that these trees will be part of my legacy.”
As he tirelessly wielded the pickaxe, Master Naturalist Shane Hanlon who regularly volunteers in Mt. Jefferson Park said, “I thought it would be cool to see more progress made on where we’re volunteering. It’s a big investment, so I wanted to participate.”
Volunteer Mary Gillman, a Del Ray neighbor and a Tree Steward since 2023, had planted a number of trees before today. But this experience stood out. “Today is fantastic. The wet ground has helped quite a bit. We just planted a hornbeam and a black gum, both of which I have in my garden so I’m very affectionate toward those species.”
There was a lot of unabashed tree love going on. Neighbor and Fairfax Master Naturalist Carrie Beach, as she shuttled supplies back and forth in her electric bike basket confessed, “I love trees. And I love giving back to my community. What can I do?” And the community is appreciative. Kelly Miller, Tree Steward graduate from 2023, had a mother and young daughter watch their efforts for an hour. They plan to revisit the tree every year for a photo, measuring her growth along with the tree’s.
Another volunteer – Steph – was no stranger to planting trees. She had served in agroforestry in the Peace Corps in Mali and then (after evacuating for the 2012 coup) in Senegal. She reflected on how, although Alexandria is a different environment in terms of the trees and terrain, “these are very much the same tools we used.”
The age span of the volunteers was testimony to the broad support for planting more trees in urban neighborhoods. Nick brought his grade school son. “We heard they were planting trees and we showed up. My son is a tool user.” As he watched his dad swing the pickaxe, the son said with a smile, “I’m pretty glad that I’m finally actually planting the trees. It’s pretty good. I’ve used axes before, but not a pickaxe.” He earned a Husky carving knife for being a “super worker.”
while his son looks at what other groups nearby are doing.
after happening by the planting project.
An even younger participant arrived with her mom, Ashley, who said they were just on a walk and noticed that something special was going on. Her daughter was drawn to the big truck that had delivered all the trees. “In the big truck is a tree …for our neighborhood.” She plans to name the new tree, something like “That Big Tree.”
The truck was an impressive sight, even for more seasoned adults. City Arborist Phil Jubert used it to deliver the more than 30 trees to Mt. Jefferson Park. In talking about tree planting events, he said that “Our goals are for it to be fun and bring the community together,” but also that it helps with the City’s goal to plant more trees in urban environments. “We don’t live in a woodland where natural regeneration happens…Biodiversity is important to slow down insect diseases.” Phil explains that volunteers make a tremendous difference by saving the City funds that it can then reinvest, for example in more trees and their maintenance. These trees were purchased wholesale from Clear Ridge Nursery.
Amidst a buzz of excitement, Russ, who spearheaded the collaborative event, explained how encouraging it is that the Alexandria Beautification Commission wanted to join the Tree Stewards in a city-wide planting. After working with Arlington Master Naturalists Park Stewards Devin Reese and Hal Cardwell in Mt. Jefferson Park and seeing the progress in replacing non-native plants and vines with natives, Russ was inspired to make it one of the planting sites.
“I feel terrific about today. People arrived on time, worked well past the hour to get 22 trees into the ground – all native trees in the right place, at the right time, and planted in the right way,” said Russ.
The volunteers looked dirty and sweaty after the three-hour event but reported that it was rewarding. As she watered a new sapling with a red can, tree steward trainee Kristen excited that “this group is so passionate about what they do. They give so much for the little we put in.”
Rosie and Claire, both tree stewards in training, were planting for their first time.
Rosie: “It’s really fun, a lot of nice people. I loved the camaraderie and that we were doing something positive. And it’s a pretty place.”
Claire: “It’s great to be away from the screens doing good physical work. It’s nice to envision what it will be someday.
When Claire marries fellow tree steward trainee John in Alexandria in November, they’ll have one more thing to bond over: planting trees. “I need to go get my wedding dress,” she says.
Two additional planting events are scheduled for October 19th at Four Mile Run Park and on November 9th along Cameron Run.
