Community comes together to plant new trees across Charles City

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

More than 100 new trees found new homes in Charles City this week as several community organizations and individual volunteers came together to dig, plant, and water saplings across the city.

The city is currently in the midst of a major tree removal project, taking out several hundred ash trees along city street rights of way and in other public areas that have been targeted for removal due to the spread of emerald ash borer. As old trees go down, new trees will need to be planted to take their place.

“This is starting the process of the replacement,” said Iowa Department of Natural Resources District Forester Jason Walker, who is based in Charles City.

Spearheaded by the Charles City Rotary Club, the joint effort included donations of time and money from the Lions Club, the city of Charles City, Floyd County Ikes and Iowa DNR. Even the Charles City FFA students got involved, with 40 high schoolers taking time away from class to help unload and plant the trees around the community.

The trees themselves were procured by Otto’s Oasis, with volunteers picking up saplings on Monday afternoon and delivering them to the city-controlled parking area between the sidewalks and the streets all around the city.

“It’s an awesome project,” said Jeff Otto of Otto’s Oasis. “I think it’s a big positive for the community.”

Funding for the trees came from $5,000 each from the Rotary Club and the Lions Club and from a $5,000 grant the city received, making $15,000 available this round to buy replacement trees.

According to DNR Forester Greg Heidebrink, Otto’s Oasis was able to get 130 trees for the city for that amount.

“He has sold all of these to the city basically at cost,” said Heidebrink. “He wants to see his community in better shape.”

On Tuesday morning, a fleet of pick-ups gathered near the concrete slide in the park along the river, where volunteers were given a crash course in tree planting by Heidebrink, who explained the proper way to dig holes and plant the trees to make sure their roots spread. From there, 12 teams of planters deployed around the city, followed by three teams dedicated to applying mulch and water.

The saplings will need regular watering for several weeks as they take root.

From small ornamental crab trees to trees that will grow into mighty oaks, biodiversity is a big focus of the tree replacement. Twenty-two different species made up the selection of new trees, which will make Charles City less susceptible to species specific ailments like emerald ash borer or Dutch elm disease, the foresters said.

With more than 1,500 public property ash trees alone in Charles City slated for removal, 100 new trees is just the beginning of what will be a long replacement process. Walker hopes that similar replacement efforts can be organized on a regular basis in the spring and fall.

And he noted that the 1,500 public property ash trees don’t include the two to four times that many on private property.

“It will be a major process,” said Walker.

Homeowners who want replacement trees for the parking area of their property can call City Hall to be placed on a waiting list to receive a tree as new waves of replacements come in.