CORNWALL – On this National Tree Day, a group of students from Cornwall Collegiate and Vocational School (CCVS) planted trees outside the Cornwall Public Library.
The project is a partnership between the high school and the Tree Action Working Group of Transition Cornwall + with supervision from the City of Cornwall’s parks department.
The 14 students from grades 7-12 are part of the school’s Tiny Forest initiative. They planted six trees – four sumac and two crab apples – along the east side of the building next to Sydney Street, north of Second Street East.
The new species are replacing about five adult trees – mostly evergreens – that were taken down during the street reconstruction.
Daniel Marion of Transition Cornwall + says this is the start of planning for a mini-forest a few blocks from the school.
Spreading of compost material and wood chips is expected to happen in the next couple of weeks, where the students will also get their hands dirty, raking out the material and maintaining the area.
CCVS teacher Genny St. Germain says they will build on the group of 14 students and get other sections of the school, like the workshop, involved in outdoor geared projects like building birdhouses.
“The timing couldn’t be more perfect with the reconstruction of Sydney Street,” Cornwall Public Library programs coordinator Pierre Dufour remarked as he watched the students shovelling and watering the new greenery.