People are familiar with beavers chopping down trees, but what about planting them?
A group of 15 Beavers with 6th Chilliwack Scouts did just that at a local park recently. On Saturday, Nov. 9, the young scouts (ages four to seven) planted 18 Western red cedars at Jinkerson Park.
The saplings were donated by former volunteer Scouter Brenda Denhollander of Yarrow, who received a number of trees last year for free from a B.C. agency. After planting what she needed at her home, she decided to give away the ones she didn't use.
Denhollander contacted 6th Chilliwack Scouts and they were happy to accept them. Scouter Julie Pierce thought tree-planting would be a great project for the kids to take on.
"We're putting them to good use," Pierce said. "The Beavers will get credit for a sustainability project which works towards sustainability badges that Scouts Canada has developed in alignment with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals."
Pierce added that the City of Chilliwack was "very gracious" in helping them with the project.
On planting day, two staff members from the parks department were on hand to teach the kids how to dig the correct size hole and how to properly plant the red cedars. The city provided all the tools and supplies.
The Beavers also learned about the lifespan of the trees. After wrong guesses of one, two, 25 and 200 years, the young scouts found out that Western red cedars can live for 1,000 years, and are the official tree of B.C.
"Every time you come to this park, you can check on your baby trees – all these trees you helped plant here – and you can see how they're growing," Pierce said to the Beavers.
