We had so much fun with the 15 teens from our Teen Urban Tree Corps summer program that we've hired them on for 10 hours a week through our new school year program. Thanks to a grant from Boston's SuccessLink program, we're excited to welcome back 5 alum and 2 new teens. In the coming weeks we'll be profiling their work as they look to plant trees in their neighborhoods. Our TUTC teens started off 2022 digging into their planting plans. Writing proposal letters, selecting tree species, and learning about gas leaks and their impacts on trees, the youth have been hard at work. They have been using iTree to examine the benefits of tree species at their sites on Warren Street in Roxbury, Wildwood Street in Mattapan, and Ross Field in Hyde Park. You can read about their plans on our website. Last week, Boston University PhD Candidate and URBAN trainee Jessica Wright was a guest with the program. She spoke to the youth about gas leaks and their impact on trees. This coming week, our very own board member Liz Luc Clowes will be taking the youth on a tour of the Codman Square Micro Healing Forest. The youth visited the site in August before construction started and they are so excited to see the final product and get the chance to talk with Liz about the process of turning an abandoned lot into a beautiful urban forest! |