Ten Trees Planted in Quail Valley: Fun and Learning in Autumn

Neighbors helped to plant ten new trees in the Quail Valley HOA community on October 14, 2023. There were 14 adults and 8 children participating in the educational and hands-on work event. RainScapes Planner Paul Modrell brought fliers, booklets, and gloves that the children wore as they spread mulch around each new sapling. To reach the newly installed trees, we hiked up "Strawberry Knoll," over to the playgrounds by Hummingbird Terrace and Grosbeak Terrace, then back to the picnic canopy by the community pool. A bag of mulch was waiting beside each tree, as well as a deer-protector that we snapped around the trunk. The rain seemed to wait until we'd serviced all ten saplings, then the clouds applauded our efforts with a little shower.

Metal park benches can get hot on a sunny August afternoon. Now there is a promise of shade next year for benches beside two community playgrounds and the basketball court. There will be pink and purple flowers on the tree in the spring and a red crown of leaves in the fall. But that's not all. These ten redbud trees will also absorb groundwater, which helps slow the runoff heading into the creeks, thus preventing erosion.

It all started a year ago when some HOA board members mentioned that the Chesapeake Bay Trust has grants that provide funds for communities and nonprofits to plant trees and hold educational events. Five residents volunteered to serve on a Tree Urban Forestry (TUF) Committee, which completed the CBT minigrant with input & review from project partners: TMGA, Inc. the property management; PGC Landscape, which installed the trees; RainScapes; Chesapeake Bay Trust; and the Quail Valley HOA board of directors.

The TUF Committee selected a species of tree that would (1) increase the diversity of tree species on community grounds; (2) withstand summer heat and drought; and (3) grow to be up to 25 feet high, but not higher: Cercis canadensis, the eastern red bud tree, fit the bill. It was a favorite of Thomas Jefferson.

The work the children did, spreading mulch, is vital to the wellbeing of the young trees. The mulch circle at the base of a tree keeps lawn mowers at a safe distance from the trunk. (Mowers bumping against the trunk lacerate the bark and kill the tree.) The mulch also prevents water from evaporating from the ground around the roots. It prevents vines from taking root and attacking the tree. And this is tricky: the mulch must not touch the bark. The children learned to shape the mulch ring like a doughnut–not like a volcano. Otherwise, roots can grow out into the mulch, when they ought to be growing down into the soil.

Kids (some of whom are Girl Scouts) and their families signed up to be "Tree Buddies" who will visit a special tree at least once a year (perhaps on someone's birthday) to see how it is doing. For example, support stakes and cables must come off after one year or they will strangle the tree. Mulch needs replenishing. Broken branches need pruning. If they see that a tree needs attention, then the Tree Buddy will call the property management to report the problem.

A tree has a better chance to thrive if somebody cares about it. Here in Quail Valley, ten trees are off to a strong start. They have Tree Buddies. Let's see how they grow.

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Steven Sellers Lapham is a 23-year resident and a member of the Tree Urban Forestry Committee, Quail Valley HOA