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March 2017
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Celebrating 100 Years of Volunteer Service with the Lions Club
By Jason Sullivan-Halpern
March 26, 2017
When Dolores and Perry Diaz of the Maharlika Lions Club approached
us in January to discuss planning a celebratory tree planting for the Lions
Club’s 100th anniversary, we were more than happy to help. The Lions
Club has a long
history of protecting our environment in addition to their other
humanitarian projects. The Lions Club International District 4-C5 even received
SacTree’s Austin B. Carrol Tree Hero Award in 2012 for their commitment to
tree planting, care, and stewardship efforts as well as effective education and
public awareness.
The Maharlika Lions Club’s goal was simple:
plant a tree for each year of the Lions Club’s volunteer service to our
community and region. Since they wanted to plant 100+ trees, we decided that
Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge would be the
perfect place for them to do so. The federally-protected 17,640-acre refuge,
composed of reclaimed agricultural lands, was developed in the 1990s to offset
increased development in the Elk Grove area and is home to thousands of species
of native wildlife. SacTree has planted thousands of trees there over the last
several years in order to increase the amount of habitat for wildlife there,
but was still plenty of work left to be done.
On March 25, volunteers from the Lions Club International District
4-C5, AmeriCorps NCCC, and the general public gathered on the North end of the
refuge to plant 300 more native oak acorns across a large open area bordering a
boat launch. All the trees, tools, training, and snacks were provided by
SacTree. The Lions Club’s International District 4-C5’s District Governor,
Kumar, was in attendance to plant the first acorn and say a few words about the
importance of this historic achievement for the Lions Club as our volunteers
finished their snacks and grabbed their tools.
All 300 of the acorns were planted in record time. We finished an
hour early! Each acorn was not only planted, but mulched with hay and covered
with a tree tube to retain moisture and protect the tree from wildlife that
might eat or trample it. The absolute best part of the experience was how much
fun everyone had though! SacTree hosts a lot of plantings, but this was one of
the most enjoyable thanks to the natural beauty of the planting site, the
highly-motivated volunteers, and the delicious lunch that the Lions Club
provided afterwards.
Following the planting, the Marhalika Lions Club stated: “We all
felt accomplished and ready to plant more trees in the future and invite all 52
local Lions Clubs in the district to participate. We pledged to return and help
maintain the Lions Centennial Grove at the Stone Lakes National Wildlife
Refuge. Thanks to our partner, Sacramento Tree Foundation and to the support of
the Friends of the Stone Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, by all means, this was
not the end of the project but the start of a lasting environmental
partnership.”
All of us here at SacTree are looking forward to growing and
protecting our urban forest with the Lions Club again soon. In the meantime, we
wish you all the best of luck with your next 100 years of volunteer service.
Do you want to host a special
group volunteer opportunity for your company, school, church, or service
group? Call or email me at 916-974-4310 or volunteer@sactree.com. We’re always
interested in planting and caring for more trees!