By Tracy Folz, Sheboygan Sun Reporter

Photo Credit: Tracy Folz

The Sheboygan Rotary Club’s Restoration of Our Trees Sheboygan initiative, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Urban Forestry Team, Wade House Historic Site and a team of people from Johnsonville and Kohler planted a mixture of 59 trees during United Way’s Day of Caring on Thursday, Sept. 24 at the Wade House.

DNR Urban Forestry Coordinator Olivia Witthun and two DNR college summer interns, Emma Kimball and Casey Czerwonka, created a planting plan listing the types of trees to be planted and the location where the trees should be planted. The interns are studying environmental science. Kimball is a junior at Marquette University, and Czerwonka is a senior at UW-Milwaukee.

“We came back here to volunteer today to see the fruits of our labor with the planting plan,” Kimball said. “I just love everything having to do with outside, and I like seeing all these people getting involved with the trees. It kind of warms my heart. Everyone is so passionate about this.”

Czerwonka said that they went to a Johnson’s Nursery event.

“We learned how they source the acorns. They go out and hand pick acorns from prolific oak trees. Then they grow the acorns in their fields, and they see which do best in the soils in Wisconsin. If you buy an oak from another nursery, it might come from another state, but these come from southeast Wisconsin, so they are going do good here.”

“Our recommendation of oaks is kind of inspired by the Johnsons event when they talk about how good they are for the birds,” Kimball said. “All the native species love the oaks. They bring a lot of life here.”

Photo Credit: Tracy Folz

Bridgitt Zielke, Site Director at the Wade House Historic Site said, “This reforestation activity is the first effort of a multi-year reforestation of Wade House’s campus with the project goal of greatly expanding the sustainable tree canopy at the property after the loss of 85% of the Wade House forest to the invasive emerald ash borer. The collaborative venture has been made possible with support from the Kohler Trust for Preservation. Additional in-kind support comes from the city of Plymouth, who will be providing mulch.”