By Sean Walker
On Sept. 28, approximately 35 volunteers gathered to plant trees at Richmond Park in Grand Rapids as part of Green Apple Day.
One day every year, the United States Green Building Council focuses on supporting service projects, referring to that day as “Green Apple Day.” Volunteers from all over Grand Rapids come in to help with whatever projects the USGBC has planned. On Green Apple Day, volunteers from Grand Valley State University, Hope College and many other organizations came out to help plant trees. The event was organized by the USGBC and the Friends of Grand Rapids Parks organization.
“We pride ourselves on being citizen-driven,” said Lee Muller, a Citizen Forester and organizer, about the Friends of Grand Rapids Parks. “We mainly work within the city limits and we have a series of tree plantings happening from now to the end of October.”
Muller has a degree in forestry and said Citizen Foresters such as himself are trained to help lead the volunteers.
“They go through a series of four classes and two volunteer opportunities and then they lead the volunteers in projects such as this,” Muller explained.
An estimated 40 trees were planted by the volunteers. Anyone interested in helping out with further projects can visit urbanforestproject.com for more information.
