Volunteers help plant trees at IMSA
On a recent Saturday, more than 50 volunteers came to the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora for a community tree planting workday during Beyond The Farm: Stanford University Global Day of Service.
The event, presented by The Stanford Latino Alumni Association and IMSA's Green Apple Day of Service program, was done in collaboration with Lisle's Morton Arboretum and JJR Marketing. ComEd sponsored the event.
Beyond the Farm seeks to extend Stanford's spirit of service to communities around the world through the volunteer efforts of alumni, family and friends.
Volunteers included members of IMSA's student environmental group Club Terra and Hispanic cultural organization Alma Latina and Stanford graduate John K. Coyle, 1994 Winter Olympic silver medalist from Bartlett.
Before the volunteers planted 16 trees on IMSA's east lot, they were given instructions and a planting demonstration by Tricia Bethke, Morton Arboretum's forest pest outreach coordinator, and by Barry Colin, owner of C.B. Colin Landscapes.
In small groups, the teams dug holes, watered and mulched trees such as honey locust, fir, red bud, oak, hackberry and crabapple, among others.
During lunch, Chuck Cannon, the arboretum's director of the center for tree science, gave a presentation.
Wheaton resident Robert Garcia, a member of Stanford Latino Alumni Association and a volunteer of the Morton Arboretum's TreeKeepers program, was grateful to connect with both IMSA and the arboretum for this event.
"Our Stanford Global Day of Service was an outstanding event, as we were able to plant 16 trees at IMSA, get great community support, share a meal, break a piñata and even learn about the importance of trees and the cool research that is being done at the Morton Arboretum," Garcia said.
"Having dedicated partners like The Morton Arboretum, JJR Marketing and IMSA allowed us to extend the Stanford Spirit of Service to the community and region where our Chicago alumni live."
IMSA's Innovation Program Manager Betty Hart was impressed by the professionalism of the experts who worked alongside the student volunteers.
"The student groups expressed their gratitude for this project-learning experience, and they enjoyed the labors of making a valuable environmental impact," Hart said.
"The trees mean more than beautification of campus grounds; they will provide an opportunity for our student clubs to recruit and educate new members on the importance of working together and being stewards of our planet."