Greene County eighth graders, Alliant Energy, and Trees Forever representatives joined together last Wednesday for a hands-on lesson about trees and the environment. The school received a grant from Alliant Energy and Trees Forever to fund the $2,500 project and plant 34 trees in Jefferson.
“This is a great example of how Branching Out is helping communities in our service area,” said Doug Kopp, president of Alliant Energy’s Iowa energy company. “We’re proud that over the last 30 years this program has planted more than a million trees and reduced more than 59 million tons of carbon dioxide. The whole community benefits from these plantings.”
Representatives of Alliant Energy and Trees Forever were there when students planted four trees on the middle school grounds Wednesday. The new trees replace several trees that were lost due to old age. Students finished the job Friday, planting another 30 additional trees on Madison St in the city-owned space between the sidewalk and curb. Property owners are encouraged to keep the new trees watered in the coming months.
“Tree plantings are great opportunities to teach the community and the next generation about the environment,” said Trees Forever field coordinator Brad Riphagen. “Students will learn about how trees provide us with so many benefits – from cleaning our air, water and soil to helping homeowners save energy and money.”
Since the program began in 1990, Alliant Energy and Trees Forever’s Branching Out partnership has planted more than 1,176,000 trees statewide.
