On May 21st, Missouri Conservation Corps was excited to plant trees with neighbors from Ridgeway Neighborhood Association and Oak Towers, as well as staff and volunteers from Volunteer Columbia, City of Columbia, Mo. Government, Local Motion, Missouri Dept. of Conservation, and CCUA. The planting took place on the corner of Garth and Sexton, close to the Ridgeway Neighborhood, Oak Towers, a neighborhood church, and Centro Latino.
Neighbors purchased the new trees for planting using funds from a Columbia Love Your Block grant, a grant program funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies and designed to bring revitalization and community engagement to cities in the United States. Columbia was one of 16 cities selected for this program, and $20,000 was distributed to 12 winning projects in central Columbia. The tree planting on the corner of Garth and Sexton was one of the 12 projects selected, and the project was assisted by staff members and organizers from the City of Columbia, the Columbia Tree Board, Columbia’s Office os Sustainability, Volunteer Columbia, Local Motion, Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture, Missouri Department of Conservation, AmeriCorps VISTA, and Missouri Conservation Corps. Thanks to all the neighbors and volunteers who came out to help!
Special thanks to Volunteer Columbia for providing lunch, and Missouri Dept. of Conservation and CCUA for advice and training on proper tree planting techniques! The newly-planted trees will help bring shade, green space, urban cooling, and increased canopy cover to this neighborhood in central Columbia.
Missouri Conservation Corps was excited to be a part of this urban tree-planting event, and we are eager to bring more trees to urban and suburban Columbia.
Photos by Jason Garton City of Columbia, Mo. Government
