Over the course of the year, Allegheny County Park Rangers and various groups go out into the parks to plant trees. Having seen these efforts take place, I figured it was time for the geocaching community to come out to one of our parks and plant a bunch of trees with the rangers. We have came out to the parks previously to do a bunch of different CITOs. Those CITO's have ranged from picking up garbage, to trail maintenance, to tree tending, etc. But we have never taken part in a tree planting. So, in late December of 2023, I reached out to the park rangers about setting up a tree planting. They were very excited about us coming out to help with this. They told me that they setup these to take place through the spring, summer, and fall. Because I inquired so early in the process for 2024, we were on the top of their list to come out and help with a tree planting.
On May 18th, we will be doing just that. We will be coming out to South Park in conjuction with the Allegheny County Park Rangers and the Allegheny County Parks Foundation to plant a bunch of trees. Just how many trees are we talking about? We are looking to plant about 100 trees in South Park during this CITO. We will be meeting at 8:45 AM and tree planting will commence at 9:00 AM. All of the necessary tools will be provided by the rangers, so all you need to do is bring yourself. If you would like, please bring your own gloves, but they will have gloves on hand as well. I would also suggest that you might want to bring some water with you as well. They will show us the proper way to plant the trees and we will work in small groups to plant them. The CITO will conclude at 12:00 Noon.
I will bring some coffee and donut holes with me, that we can enjoy before we begin to plant the trees. Please leave the pups home for this CITO as I would hate for them to get hurt. This would be a great opportunity for kids to learn about the different trees we have in our parks and how to care for a new tree after it gets planted.
So, a quick recap for our tree planting CITO:
When: May 18, 2024 at 8:45 AM to 12:00 Noon
Where: South Park
Location: Nevin Shelter - We will be planting up behind the shelter
Who should attend: YOU!
Hope that you can make it to this CITO. By attending this CITO, you will have picked up the Season 1 CITO souviener.