On Saturday, December 9, 2023, in Crocheron Park, volunteers from the ALYUS Oakland Gardens Branch were putting mulch rings around trees from 9 am to 12 pm. We are proud to say that we worked with Chris and Robert again. Another person we worked with was Dana Gumb. The weather during that time was nice and warm.
During the 3 hours of the event, the volunteers put mulch around 15 yards of trees. The mulch was made out of wood chips and leaves. Something that the volunteers noticed that the mulch was smoking. This was because the mulch had trapped heat inside of it, and the heat was released while we were taking mulch from the pile. Also, bacteria eat away at the mulch and release methane. This is a greenhouse gas but the mulch is better for the trees that let us live.
The mulch protects the tree during the colder months. It also absorbs moisture from rain so that the trees have water when the days are dry. When mulch decomposes, the mulch provides nutrients for the trees to survive. They also keep away weeds that crowd the trees. It regulates the temperature so the tree does not freeze in the winter. Another important part of the mulch is that it keeps away lawnmowers. If the lawnmowers hit the trees, they can damage the trees. However, mulch is good, but we must be careful. If the mulch or leaves touches the tree, then the tree can start molding or growing fungus. This can severely damage the tree.
A question the volunteers had was, “How do you figure out the age of a tree?” Gumb’s response was that we should count the rings in the tree. One of the trees that were felled was at least 80 years old when it was chopped down. Something cool that Robert told us was that the trees can actually grow back after being felled. Beavers use this to their advantage by felling trees and eating the shoots that regrow.
First, we got a few wheelbarrows and used shovels to fill them up with mulch. Then, we brought the wheelbarrows of mulch over some of the younger trees and made mulch rings around them. Instead of mulch for the older trees, we used leaves. The leaves act the same as the mulch, but the older trees don’t need as much protection. The leaf rings had to be made at least 6 inches away from the tree base. Dry leafs also provide a winter shelter for pollinators.
We’d like to thank Chris Burton, Robert Taylor, and Dana Gumb for helping us complete this event. Our group is proud that we helped these trees live through the long and cold winter.
Our Volunteers:
Stephanie Shi Ran You: 3 hours
Sophia Shi Han You: 3 hours
Vicki Lin: 3 hours
Hong Hao Liu (Alfred): 3 hours
Ioklee Lin: 3 hours
Muya Zhou: 3 hours
Chloe Cheng: 3 hours
Tiffany Ye: 3 hours
Hang Xu Yu (Brian): 3 hours
Ryan Wu: 3 hours
PaiPai Xu (Nick): 3 hours
Henry Xu: 3 hours
Jocelyn Tsu: 3 hours
Klayton Tsu: 3 hours
Jameson Liu: 3 hours
Jiayuan He: 3 hours
Aiden Lin: 3 hours
Brandon Lin: 3 hours
Ethan Lin: 3 hours
Aiden Chen: 3 hours
Zi Hao Wang: 3 hours
Elvin Huang: 3 hours
Austin Yuel: 3 hours
Evaline Yuel: 3 hours
Hannah Liu: 3 hours
Evina Liu: 3 hours
Jamie Chen: 3 hours
Erica Li: 3 hours
Thomas Liang: 3 hours
William Liang: 3 hours
Albert Tang: 1.5 Hours
Report by Hong Hao Liu (Alfred) and Sophia Shi Han You
