On the Greenway: A High Five to FedEx, a Shout Out to SGIS

THANK YOU to the 80 FedEx volunteers who came out to the Greenway at Epping Way on April 13th for another great FedEx Cares service project, part of the Conservancy’s FedEx-funded grant supporting our restoration and education work, and the FedEx 50th Anniversary celebration. The volunteers collected 22, 520 lbs. of trash and 1,010 tires from the Wolf River banks near the bridge over North Highland, piling the tires neatly by the side of the road so the City could dispose of them properly a few days later. This huge effort made a real difference at this illegal dumping site!  In addition to the tire and trash cleanup, FedEx volunteers cleared 1, 250 feet of trail, planted a new floating wetland island with native plants, mulched trees, and planted and weeded a native plant garden.  Thanks for everything, FedEx team! (Check out news coverage on Fox 13 at this link).

Two groups of students and faculty from St. George’s Independent School also made a big contribution this April.  On April 6th, in spite of steady rain, 15 SGIS middle school students and 3 teachers picked up 11 bags of trash (600 lbs.) and 17 tires along N. Highland near the Wolf River Greenway trailhead; they included in their count “a van load of wet 8th graders, and a loads of lessons about self and life.”   We salute their grit and perseverance!  The following week, on April 11th, 143 SGIS high school students and 16 adults descended on the Urban Earth facility to pot up tree seedlings remaining from our March tree planting event.  In short order, the group was able to pot 1,025 trees and place them in the nursery to await a permanent location.  THANK YOU, SGIS students and faculty, for your hard work, your helping hands, and your concern for our environment!