There are many things you can do while social distancing, and helping the planet is one of them. On March 22nd, Evan Nied, creator of nonprofit Planting Shade, as well as Kempsville student volunteers Hadyn Hall, Luke Boynton, and Mary Casper, decided to spend their quarantine giving back by planting trees. 

“We all practiced social distancing and made sure not to come in close contact with one another,” said Nied. They planted 1,300 seedlings at the Cavalier Golf and Yacht Club. 

Mary Casper, one of the volunteers, recounted how they planted so many trees. 

“At the golf club, we met up with the groundskeeper and he provided us with instructions on how to and where to plant the tree saplings in the areas around the golf course that had open space and a soil/dirt terrain,” she said. “After we planted each tree we flagged them to help inform people who help manage gardening the greens to not pull them up in case they mistook our tree saplings for weeds.”

In talking about helping the community, Casper reflected on the joy of giving back in unsettling times. 

“It feels good to be doing something for the community during this quarantine because I really love giving back. Right now, while everybody is inside, it [feels] good to go the extra mile to help out not only our community, but also the environment, because everything needs some love in times of crisis, including the earth, as hippie as that may sound,” said Casper.

Planting Shade is also doing a tree giveaway on their Instagram, @planting.shade, providing free and no-contact drop-offs of seedlings. They also are looking for volunteers, and are offering community service hours for every tree planted. To get involved, share availability with Evan Nied.