BAUMHOLDER, Germany - April 22 marked Earth Day 2011. And to mark the occasion a Baumholder Middle High School students did their part to make the earth a greener place April 21 by planting 10 saplings next to the High School Playhouse.
"Earlier this year we did a school beautification project and this is kind of like an extension of it," said Bria Johnson, a student at Baumholder Middle High School and a member of the school's National Honor Society.
In winter, as part of their beautification project, the students planted tulip bulbs which are now blooming at various locations around the school campus.
The saplings they planted were donated by Manfred BAfA$cker, Forstoberinspektor (Forstmeister) from the Federal Forest Office at Baumholder. "I am always pleased to support this sort of activity and I highly encourage it. I selected the trees directly from my personal stock."
The saplings BAfA$cker selected included chestnut, sycamore, beech and Douglas fir.
Tree planting, as simple as it may seem, can be a challenging endeavor, especially around Baumholder.
The military community is evolving and before anything as permanent as trees can be set in the ground, one has to look ahead and see if in five or 10 years the trees may be right in the middle of a construction site.
A consultation with members of Baumholder's master planning board ensured these trees will not go under the axe before their time.
Bringing all the pieces of this project together was Felix Purvis from the U.S. Army Garrison Baumholder Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security. Purvis met with the schools liaison officer, Pamela Johnson, and Heinz Baumann, chief of operations and maintenance, Directorate of Public Works.
Together they determined a time, date and place for the planting and Purviz ensured the planting site was appropriate by consulting with the master planning board.
Manfred "PflAfA$nchen" Peters and Benno Wahl from Baumholder's DPW roads and grounds division did the heavy lifting. They ensured the holes were dug in the right place and helped the students with the planting and Baumann assisted in acquiring trees from the Forstmeister.
On April 21 the students showed up at the appointed time, got their hands a little dirty and made Baumholder a little greener.
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