Citizens Energy Group employees dressed the part for the “Trick or Tree” planting on Friday, October 19, in support of the 10 Thousand Trees initiative.
Since Halloween was less than two weeks after the event, participants were encouraged to come in costume. Given that the group was planting trees, a few costumes were particularly memorable. John Trypus, Director Underground Engineering and Construction, dressed as an emoji that represents our wastewater utility, which also served as a reminder that fertilizer is an essential ingredient when planting trees. Jessica Bastin, Manager Engineering, her daughter, Addie, and Olivia Hawbaker, Project Manager, represented another important aspect of healthy plants – pollination – coming as a bee keeper and bees, respectively; and Becky Schaefer, Manager Engineering, carried out the plant theme with her homemade cactus costume!
Several employees, along with their family members and friends and Keep Indianapolis Beautiful (KIB) representatives, spent the morning planting close to 50 trees as part of 10 Thousand Trees, a project aimed at beautifying neighborhoods and reducing combined sewer overflows to area waterways. The goal of this partnership with KIB and the Indianapolis Department of Public Works is to plant 10,000 trees by 2024. By the end of 2018, more than 2,100 trees will have already been planted since the project commenced in 2016.
If you would like to be a part of a future planting, visit https://www.kibi.org/projects to sign up.
Jeffrey Harrison Speaks to Youth Tree Team
A vital component of the 10 Thousand Trees initiative is Keep Indianapolis Beautiful’s Youth Tree Team. This seven-week summer job program for teens and young adults includes watering, mulching, pruning, staking, and planting trees. Participants also gain leadership and personal finance skills, develop new friendships, and attend enrichment activities with local leaders.
Citizens President and CEO Jeffrey Harrison was invited to be a part of the enrichment component of the program earlier this year. He advised the nearly 100 youth to treat everyone with respect, find a mentor they trust, and never stop learning. Team members signed a Youth Tree Team shirt and presented it to Harrison in gratitude for his presentation and Citizens’ involvement with this program.
Know a young adult who might be interested in KIB’s Youth Tree Team? Find more details at www.kibi.org/youth-tree-team.
