March/April 2016 |
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Natalie McNeill (right), district manager of Davey's Fort Collins R/C office,
presents a check for $2,000 to Kim Yuan-Farrell (left), executive director of The
Park People, a non-profit organization in Denver. Attendees of the 2015 Partners in
Community Forestry Conference voted for one of three different programs within
The Park People organization: Denver Digs Trees, which provides Denver residents
with free and low-cost trees for planting on both private and public ground;
Community Forester, which empowers individuals to lead tree planting and care
activities within the Denver community; and Mile High Tree Champs, which gives
businesses the opportunity to support the urban forest through community tree
plantings. Participants voted by being photographed at Davey's booth with an
oversized ballot and tweeting out their vote. Denver Digs Trees earned the most
votes and received Davey's support.
DAVEY DIGS TREES
Davey employees go above and
beyond to provide excellent service
at work and within their local
communities.
Karl Dreyer, who recently retired as
district manager of the St. Louis R/C
office, did just that when SouthSide
Early Childhood Center called his office
and asked if he would be willing to
come speak to students about trees.
A LESSON IN PLANTING
Davey's St. Louis employees, pictured back row left to right, Juan Cervantes,
Estabon Sifuentes and Karl Dreyer, helped children from SouthSide Early Childhood
Center plant a new Swamp White Oak tree on their school grounds.
He decided to take it one step further
by teaching them to plant a tree.
Dreyer invited both Juan Cervantes,
foreman, and Estabon Sifuentes,
trimmer, to help teach the kids, ages
three-to-five, how to plant a new tree
on their school grounds.
During Dreyer's planting lesson the
children circled around the tree and
took turns filling in the hole. Now,
with the help of tiny hands, a new
vibrant swamp white oak tree
stands tall near the children's
playground.
"The kids' overall genuine interest in
what we are doing and the dialogue
back and forth was my favorite part,"
Dreyer says. "It was a great
opportunity to be a component
of these kids' day."
