By Leslie Collins
Northeast News
October 12, 2011

Giddy with excitement, Holy Cross Catholic School students scouted out their tree markers.

“You can change the environment just one tree at a time,” fifth grader Alaina Andrade said.

With a shovel in hand, Andrade waited patiently with her group for a grown-up to supervise their digging.

Nearly 40 fifth and sixth graders from Holy Cross gathered at the park Oct. 7 to plant a variety of trees, thanks to the Burroughs Audubon Society of Greater Kansas City.

Two other schools, Trailwoods Elementary and J.A. Rogers Middle School, participated in the tree planting, along with more than 40 community volunteers.

Organizer of the event and Burroughs Audubon member Heidi Retherford explained how she thought of the idea.

An avid bird watcher, Retherford often visited Blue Valley Park, but noticed a number of dying trees and litter. She brought the issue to the Conservation Committee of the Burroughs Audubon Society of Greater Kansas City and the idea grew from there, she said. Through a $1,425 grant from the Conservation Federation of Missouri, Retherford scheduled several events to beautify the park. Earlier this year, volunteers removed honeysuckle, planted a native garden and removed trash. The Missouri Stream Team removed more than 700 tires from the hillside near the river.

For the education component of the grant, Retherford thought of including area schools.

“This way, we’re getting the children involved and hopefully, they’ll come to appreciate their work and want to preserve and protect the park for wildlife and make it an inviting place for park visitors,” Retherford said.

A total of 304 trees, ranging from fruit trees to oak to poplars to dogwoods and others, were planted at Blue Valley Park. A number of organizations helped make the event possible, including the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department, Blue Valley Kiwanis Club, Blue Valley Neighborhood Association, Missouri Department of Conservation, Missouri Master Naturalist and other organizations.

“It’s a hidden treasure,” Mark Morales of the Blue Valley Kiwanis Club said. “We just want to let the kids know it’s there and utilize the park.”

As the youngsters took turns digging holes, they told Northeast News about what they learned.

In detail, they explained how much mulch to use and how deep to dig the holes. They described a watering schedule and said trees are critical to the environment.

“We learned that Blue Valley Park is one of the biggest parks in Kansas City and there’s plenty of places for you to get fresh air and exercise,” Andrade said. “Trees create a healthier environment for all of us.”

Fifth grader Valleri Miller added that trees “suck in” carbon dioxide and release oxygen, which “we need to breathe.”

Not only do trees provide shade for humans, they also provide shelter for squirrels, birds and other wildlife, fifth grader Andrea Monge said matter-of-factly.

Fifth grader Alexandra Lopez summed up the day: “We felt really excited because just by a little tree we can make a change.”