Recap: Beltline arboretum tree planting

Volunteers from all corners of the city flaunted their green thumbs on Saturday as they got down and dirty planting trees along Lucille Ave in Southwest Atlanta.

The event, organized by Trees Atlanta, was an effort to encourage community involvement in the Beltline Arboretum, a living museum of trees that will run alongside the 22-mile stretch of light rail and pedestrian trails. The historic undertaking hopes to create the nation’s longest linear arboretum.

Workers braved the early morning chill and arrived at the Kipp Strive School where they were greeted by a warm reception of hot coffee, breakfast bars and bottled water.

Once 9am hit, Trees Atlanta employees thanked everyone for their participation, presented a brief training session on planting the trees and directed volunteers towards shovels and work gloves.

Shovels and picks in hand, groups set out to claim a tree and begin digging holes. Once all of the trees had been planted, buckets of mulch were distributed to each and spread along the trunks.

Some volunteers even took to naming their trees, prompting one lady to proudly boast, “Look at ‘Chad’ all dressed up,” referring to her tree that had just received a fresh layer of mulch.

In all, approximately 100 volunteers pitched in to plant 60 new trees and finished the task in less than three hours.

To see photos of the event, check out the slideshow below.