© Denis Jr. Tangney/iStockphoto Worcester, Massachusetts has experienced its fair share of challenges lately. Not only has the city seen some of the highest unemployment rates in Massachusetts due to the recent recession, but its citizens have also been forced remove thousands of trees that have fallen prey to a widespread beetle infestation. The Asian Long-horned Beetle, which burrows deep within trees, has compromised the structural integrity of many of Worcester’s trees. Tree lined streets now sit empty. As a result, the values of homes have declined and people’s lives have been altered. It is not uncommon to talk to someone in the community about the situation and notice a certain amount of distress and sadness in their voice.
This is not the end of the road for Worcester’s urban forests, though. Several organizations, including CSX and the Worcester Tree Initiative, are coming together to plant 30,000 new trees throughout the community over the next five years. None of the trees being planted are susceptible to Asian Long-horned Beetle infestation. Although the trees will take time to grow, they are a symbol of the community’s commitment to restoring their urban environment.
Team Care Force headed out to Worcester on April 21st to begin prep work for that Saturday’s tree planting and beautification event with CSX and the Worcester Tree Initiative at Burncoat High School. Our first prep day started later than usual with a visit to the Worcester Boys & Girls Club. This visit was organized by Team Care Force’s Program Manager, Wil Holbrook, who worked at this very Club for two years during graduate school. After the Unit Director, Ike McBride, gave us a tour of the facilities, we sat down for lunch and a conversation about the youth and communities that this Boys & Girls Club serves. Afterwards, we headed to Burncoat High School to begin our prep work. We proceeded to spend the afternoon cutting wood and assembling example planter benches. A few members of our team joined the local forestry department in staking locations for tree plantings in the neighborhood.
Our second day of prep work was spent tying up loose ends from the day before and making sure that all of our projects were in order. The most exhausting day of the week was our third and final day of prep. The weather warmed substantially, and two of the members of the team ended up with minor sunburns. Working with the forestry department, we identified tree planting locations throughout the grounds of Burncoat High School and Middle School. Afterward, we began delivering trees to residencies in the surrounding neighborhoods. These trees would be planted by our CSX volunteers the following day. We utilized our “stow and go” mini-vans as well as wheel barrows to complete the tiring and lengthy task.
One wheelbarrow actually doubled as a tool for a local news cameraman, when Team Care Force’s Allison Goldstein was asked to push him along the parking lot to get “the perfect shot” of trees that were awaiting delivery. We also took advantage of an opportunity to meet Massachusetts Congressman Jim McGovern, who was back in his home district from D.C. After several photographs and a brief conversation, we continued our work. We ended the late day with dinner a couple blocks from our hotel at Armsby Abbey, a restaurant so new to Worcester that many of the locals we spoke to had never heard of it.
The day of service was finally upon us. We checked out of the Hampton Inn before 7 a.m. and made our way to Burncoat High School. Although it was the first project of 2009 for many of us, the service day ran smoothly. Throughout the course of the day, Team Care Force led approximately 50 volunteers from CSX and the Worcester community in planting more than 100 trees at Burncoat Middle and High Schools, and in the surrounding neighborhoods. We also led volunteers in building planter benches and landscaping two courtyards at the high school. The temperature that day reached the 80 degree plus mark, but our volunteers never let up, pushing through to make sure the projects were completed. As these projects were occurring, many Worcester residents came out to claim free trees for their yards that were being handed out, courtesy of CSX.
After tying up some loose ends and restocking Care Force One, Team Care Force hit the road for the 40 mile drive back to Boston. On our way, we partook in our most unique post-event dinner to date, stopping at a travel center off of the highway and taking over the food court for half an hour. By the end of the day, the rental vehicles were returned and everybody was home. This trip definitely proved to be a different type of service week, but when all was said and done, it is safe to say that Team Care Force was proud of the contribution they were able to make to the residents of Worcester.
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