The Hamline Midway community is planting trees and the Earthkeepers are helping! Last summer we provided leadership for the Replant Minnehaha Trees Project. And we are continuing to support tree planting efforts with our time and our funds.

Lot of gravel to move

Why do we do this? To reduce the urban heat island effect and cool our community. To reduce air-pollutants in the air we breathe and in our ground water. To provide shade and a more attractive streetscape – which encourages us to be physically active and increases our physical and mental health. And we do this to support the Hamline Church mission to provide sanctuary.

We are learning that the biggest need for trees in our neighborhood is on private property – in our yards. While the City has a budget to plant and care for trees on boulevards and parks, tree care and replacement can be beyond the resources of many Hamline Midway residents. This has become an environmental justice issue.

Assembling the gravel bed

A key part of the solution was to build the Hamline Midway Community Gravel Bed. The Friends School of Minnesota, located just down the street at 1365 Englewood, provided the space. The Hamline Midway Coalition raised the funds with our help. Supportive companies provided the materials at reduced costs. Volunteers provided the labor. A generous neighbor will cover the water bill.

So what is a gravel bed? Think of it as a raised bed, but filled with gravel rather than soil. It is planted with bare root trees and kept very well-irrigated. The gravel bed offers advantages: bare root trees are significantly less expensive than containerized trees. A wider selection of trees species is available. While the trees don’t grow taller or faster in a gravel bed, they do develop a better root structure, so they are healthier when planted in a yard. And they are much lighter and easier to transport and plant than a containerized tree.

Adding the trees and water

In the fall, trees that have spent the summer growing in the Hamline Midway Community Gravel Bed will be available at no cost to our neighbors in the neighborhood for planting in their yards. We may be called upon to continue our service to our neighbors by helping with the digging of holes and planting of trees at that time.

All timbers nailed and filled with gravel