Eastern Students Green Up Willimantic

Over two weekends in September, approximately 30 student volunteers at Eastern Connecticut State University helped plant 50 trees and 120 shrubs in a 10,000-square-foot urban garden on High Street near campus.

The work was in support of the “325 Trees and Shrubs Project,” a program launched in the winter of 2017 to plant 325 native trees and shrubs in Willimantic. In addition to private fundraising, the program has received support from Sustainable CT, a statewide program to encourage and support towns and municipalities in their sustainability efforts. Sustainable CT is managed by the Institute for Sustainable Energy at Eastern Connecticut State University.

In addition to High Street, other locations that have received plantings include Memorial Park, Poets Park, Whitewater Park, Heritage Park, and GROW Windham gardens at Lauter Park and other locations. The project has now exceeded its initial goal and will soon close as local “greening” attention shifts to the Garden on the Bridge project.

Eastern students on the four-day project included volunteers from the Center for Community Engagement as well as members of the MALES and FEMALES student clubs. They worked three-four hours each day alongside Garden Club volunteers. “We couldn’t have done it without them,” said Faith Kenton, organizer of the 325 Trees and Shrubs Project.

Written by Ed Osborn

Categories: Community Engagement