11 pine trees planted at Fritt’s Park
Saturday morning, students of “Miss. Kim’s School of Music” when to work at Fritt’s Park to plant 11 trees.
“I originally expected 10 students, one tree for each music student,” music teacher Kimberly Ellison said. “But we have 7 students and myself. So the eight of us, along with Ed Chapin’s help, will plant these 11 trees.”
“These are native slash pines,” Chapin said. “This is the most common pine tree in Southwest Florida.”
Chapin became a member of the Calusa Land Trust in 1978, two years after the CLT was organized. “These pines are a key element of pine forests of Southwest Florida.”
Chapin dug the first hole offering instructions to the students.
“We raised money last May to plant these trees and also have each of our students become members of the Calusa Land Trust,” Ellison said. “I thought becoming members of this great organization would be good for them.”
Ellison presented a check for $150 for each student’s membership in the Calusa Land Trust and a second check for $180 to cover the cost of the trees.
“The trees came from John Sibley,” Ellison said.
“I am really into nature and I learned about the pine tree situation on Pine Island and how the Calusa Land Trust wanted to plant native trees and get rid of the invasives,” Ellison said. “I thought this would be a great opportunity for all of us to get involved. Each of these new members will receive the newsletter from the Calusa Land Trust and hopefully stay involved in these types of activities that benefit the island.”