Earthkeepers plant 12,000 trees

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ESCANABA - In the past five days, northern Michigan residents have planted a majority of the 12,000 EarthKeeper Tree Project seedlings including 100 that planted Wednesday night at a Delta County camp.

"We planted approximately 100 trees on an area of clear cut land," said Presbyterian Earth Keeper Jill Martin of Ford River Township.

The red pines were planted at a camp about 12 miles from Escanaba owned by Paul and Denise DeHaan, who are members of the First Presbyterian Church in Escanaba.

Paul DeHann said his daughter Maggie "will remember planting these trees and come out here as an adult to see them quite a bit bigger."

DeHann gave strict instructions to his daughter that the planted area would now be off limits to ORVs because the trees needed protection to grow. Jill and her husband, Hal Martin, then walked along the Ford River to check out the water levels.

Upper Peninsula residents planted the trees at homes, camps, parks, American Indian reservations and many other places.

Kyra Fillmore, the project distribution coordinator, said the 12 to 16-inch white spruce and red pine seedlings were given to over 100 churches and temples in all 15 U.P.counties and northeast Wisconsin. "We hope these trees grow strong and tall," Fillmore said.

About 11,300 trees were planted since May 3, and the final 700 will be planted beginning this weekend in the western U.P. The trees for Gogebic, Ontonagon and Baraga counties just arrived a week later than the rest of the U.P.

A member of First Presbyterian Church in Escanaba, Martin said on May 3 children at her church "planted three trees into planters in the sanctuary."

Martin said a young girl jumped over a planted seedling so that when the tree was big she could say "I jumped over that tree."

"The message was that seedlings are like child trees, when we plant them, we nurture them and watch them grow up to be big and we love the kids and trees like crazy," Martin said.

"Many people told me they were going straight out to camp or the farm to plant the trees," Martin said.

A Presbyterian member of the EarthKeeper team, Martin said the project made her fell "like the tree lady this year."

Martin said a young man playing tennis shouted out, "Hey, I planted my trees."

"Many people paused in thought when I suggested that a Red Pine could live 400 years," said Martin, an environmental scientist with Wilcox Professional Services in Escanaba. "It is a wonderful feeling when you know that 400 years into the future this simple act in God's creation could still be here as testament to our faith."

"My kids and I had a great time packing trees and planting trees," said Carl Lindquist, who has a son and a daughter and is executive director of the Superior Watershed Partnership. "I think everyone likes to feel like they are part of something much bigger than they are."

Piasini said her two-year-old grandson Mason Anderson planted trees at his home in Felch and on May 5 outside her office at the North Dickinson Head Start Center.

"Mason put every tree into every whole he was told - he was so cute," Piasini said. "He watered the trees with the watering can."

Mason is the son of Fawn and Steve Anderson of Felch.

In Chocolay Township, a seven-year-old Isabelle Gostomski was dressed in her finest Sunday dress as she and her father planted a seedling in their front yard.

"I got it from church and it's a tree - today was my first communion and I got this for a present." said Gostomski, the daughter of Jennifer and Greg Gostomski.

In Marquette, Lutheran Pastor Tim Bernard blessed the same group of trees three times on Sunday, May 3, during two services at Messiah Lutheran Church and one service at St. Mark's Lutheran Church.

"These trees have been blessed three times which is a very Trinitarian number - they will grow profusely and abundantly," Rev. Bernard joked at the final service evoking laughter from the congregation.