Neighbors help to plant a new tree at Hogan House Pantry on Hogan Drive.
On a sunny afternoon in early November, the normally quiet street in front of Hogan House Food Pantry began to get busy. Vehicles arrives, shovels were unloaded and stacked next to the driveway, and two potted native trees were positioned on the front lawn. This sudden flurry of activity on a fall afternoon heralded the beginning of Missouri Conservation Corps’ second community tree planting of 2025. Our organization has been busy this year planning a community tree planting program. Our goals for this new program are to bring trees, tree education, and additional support to low-canopy neighborhoods in Columbia and in Boone County. After our first community tree planting with Fresh Start for Sober Living in central Columbia, Missouri Conservation Corps scheduled the second community tree planting with the staff members of Hogan House Pantry, a Food Bank affiliated food pantry and community resource hub on Hogan Drive in Boone County. We were excited to work with Ginger and Sue on planning the event, and we were thrilled at the neighbors who turned out to help us plant the trees in the front yard at Hogan House.
More than 15 neighbors came out to learn about trees, to help plant and water our new trees, and to enjoy the activities planned for our tree-planting event. Special thanks go to the volunteers from MU CAFNR who came out to help us teach the art of tree planting to the neighbors of Hogan Drive, and to the partner organizations who joined us by providing services and information at this event, including the Boone County Health Department, Columbia’s Community Connectors, and Hogan House Pantry.
