Reeves College marked another successful Green the City event in collaboration with Root for Trees and planted 333 trees at Callaghan Park on October 14th, 2022. Root for Trees is a volunteer tree-planting initiative launched by the City of Edmonton to expand the urban forest cover in the city. This year’s event saw the participation of 30 volunteers, including Reeves College staff members.
Last year, the event coincided with Reeves College’s 60th anniversary and was celebrated with a plantation drive that resulted in over 300 new trees at Jackie Parker Park.
This year, the aim was to continue those efforts and leave a green legacy for the community. Reeves College is committed to being responsible stewards of the land, and all of its eight campuses across Alberta strongly emphasize sustainability, communal well-being, and enriching communities. "We hope to continue our collaboration in the future to continue fostering environmental stewardship within the city of Edmonton," said Ashlyn Renner, a representative from Roots for Trees.
The event kicked off with a few words from Cindy Ighouba, campus director at Reeves College. Ighouba noted that Reeves College has a long history of community involvement, "Each of our campuses is community-based, allowing most of our students and staff to live, work and study in the same location. This is why we are big on investing in our communities and enriching our neighborhoods."
Also present were MLA David Eggen, an advocate for education in Alberta, and MLA Marlin Schmidt, an advocate for protecting public services for all Albertans. Both MLAs said a few words and expressed their excitement at the initiative.
Reeves College then presented a cheque worth $3000 to Root for Trees to support their efforts to increase tree and shrub planting throughout the city.
Renner gave closing remarks and in thanking Reeves College for their support and donation, she looked to the future saying, "Support towards the continual growth of Edmonton’s urban forest....help[s] to support our vision of having a city of trees planted by its citizens. Callaghan Park will be beautified for decades to come."