ArborFest, which dedicated two days to adding trees in Grand Rapids’ southeast side, was headquartered outside River City on April 25 and 26. The event brought together community partners and local volunteers in an effort to bring more greenery to the school’s neighborhood.
In total, over 200 trees were planted, including about 40 on the campus of River City Scholars.
River City Admissions Representative Sara Schmuldt said over 100 volunteers participated on each day. Groups of volunteers were given a map to their designated sites where they would find a new tree ready for planting.
“Friends of Grand Rapids Parks kind of taught them how to plant the trees,” Schmuldt said. “They showed how far outside of the root ball to go and how deep to dig. The trees had been dropped the week prior, so they were at each site. Some of the sites were a half mile to a mile away, so it was all over the southeast side.”
Volunteers were provided a shovel and gloves before they went out to plant a tree.
Schmuldt said the school was involved in the planning of the event and helped identify where some trees would go. She said Friends of Grand Rapids Parks walked the area and found 40 places for new trees on River City’s campus. The school also got an assist from Oakdale Neighbors, who helped reinvigorate gardens on school grounds.
Corporate partners in the community were lending a helping hand on the first day while neighbors and other local partners contributed on the second day. With food catered in and music to boost spirits, ArborFest’s second day became a community party. Saturday’s festivities also included opportunities to connect with resources such as the local library.
ArborFest served as a connection point for the community and the school. About 15-20 families helped plant trees.
Connecting families to these resources is important, Schmuldt said. She noted that providing this platform benefits both families and partners at events like ArborFest or Easter egg hunts.
“Having all of those resources in one place is the best way to get information to families,” Schmuldt said. “Expecting them to go to all these different places and find the information is not always feasible. We have a lot of really great resources on the southeast side where our families really need them, so bringing them right to the families is crucial.”
Hundreds of volunteers offered their help in beautifying the southeast side of Grand Rapids for Arbor Day.
In total, over 200 trees were planted at River City and in the surrounding neighborhoods. With this commitment to community partnership, the school is helping make its neighborhood greener and everyone had plenty of fun contributing.
“It was a really cool event,” Schmuldt said. “I think everybody who was involved with it really loved it and had a great experience. Everybody was happy and smiling and we had two beautiful weather days as well. We had super positive feedback.”
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About River City Scholars
River City Scholars is a tuition-free, public charter school in Grand Rapids, Michigan, serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the National Heritage Academies (NHA®) network, which includes more than 100 tuition-free, public charter schools serving more than 65,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade across nine states. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.
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