Thursday May 10th: Reforesting the Park

Today Max and I got up early and drove over to Cheyenne Mountain State Park. Stacey Lewis told us that today we would be helping reforest some of the areas surrounding the campsites and park buildings. Max, I, and nearly 15 other volunteers helped unload trees off of the delivery truck. We then gathered to listen to the resident botany expert explain how we should go about planting the different trees and shrubs. We learned all about the specifics of planting such things. For example, we learned that the root-bulb of the tree should be approximately one inch above the soil. We also learned that it is very important to add nutrient enriched topsoil to the mix and to create a plane of dirt around the plant that promotes the absorption of rainfall while fighting erosion. Key things such as those stated were taught to us, and then we proceeded to plant. Altogether, Max and I probably planted around 25 trees/shrubs. By the time we had finished, we were professionals. We had a good time conversing with the different volunteers; all of whom seemed to out age us by a minimum of 45 years. Most of the people volunteering were senior citizens from the Broodmore locality of Colorado Springs. They told us they they simply wanted to help out the community, they had free time and they were putting it to good use. This was inspiring for Max and me. After all of the trees were planted, the whole group of volunteers gathered around a few picnic tables and enjoyed the lunchtime meal provided by the park rangers. We all ate a hearty helping of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, coleslaw, and biscuits. Max and I tried to be cautious not to contaminate our wholesome diet and workout regimen, but the food was too good looking to resist. We all chowed down and said our goodbyes. It was a fun day working out in the park; we met a lot of new people and learned a few new skills. We said goodbye to Stacy, and set off home to rest for another day of work at the park.