By Ashleigh Swan
A Carmel High School club has partnered with Tree-Plenish to lead the national nonprofit’s largest current project.
Serve Carmel, an umbrella organization over CHS service clubs, aims to plant at least 1,500 trees at local residents’ homes on April 17 as a way to offset paper usage at CHS. During the 2019-20 school year, CHS used about 12.3 million sheets of paper, which equates to about 1,500 trees.
“I am very excited to be leading this project because I think that is a great way to protect the environment and promote sustainability right here in Carmel,” Serve Carmel President Summer Tullai said. “By creating change in our local community we can build a healthier and more sustainable future, and I am happy that I have the opportunity to be involved in such an important issue.”
Tullai, a CHS sophomore, is leading the effort and hopes to be joined by many student and community volunteers. For each donation of $5, Serve Carmel volunteers will plant a tree at the donor’s home or business. Donors may also pick up the trees or have them delivered to their property to plant themselves.
Tree varieties include eastern redbud, eastern white pine and tulip poplar. After consulting with Darren Mindham, urban forester for the City of Carmel, the group decided that those types of trees were best suited for the area because they are native to Indiana, resistant to disease, and fit the city’s planting objectives.
Learn more and request a tree by March 17 at tree-plenishevents.org/carmel. Anyone interested in volunteering may fill out the form at bit.ly/ServeCarmelTrees or contact Tullai at [email protected]. COVID-19 protocols will be followed during the tree planting event.
