Help plant "Happy Little Trees" at Sharon Mills County Park

Would you like to help plant trees at Sharon Mills County Park acquired through a Bob Ross-themed program? Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation will be planting trees obtained through the Happy Little Trees Program, May 22, 2021 from 9 am to noon and May 25, 2021 from 1 to 4 pm at Sharon Mills County Park, located at 5701 Sharon Hollow Rd, and they need volunteers.

Happy Little Trees is a partnership between Bob Ross Inc., Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Michigan Department of Corrections, 5K participants, and tree-planting volunteers that began in 2019 during the Michigan state parks centennial. In 2019, the DNR Parks and Recreation Division pitched a partnership idea to Bob Ross Inc. to help raise awareness of forest protection efforts to help expand the division’s stewardship efforts by renaming their existing prison grow program to Happy Little Trees.

Local native seeds are collected. The seeds are grown into new trees for replanting by inmates in correctional education programs where inmates learn horticultural practices. Hundreds of volunteers then plant trees all over the state. This is funded by thousands of 5K race participants. This year’s Run for the Trees/ Happy Little Virtual 5K was held April 22-30, 2021.

Whether you participated in the 5K raising funds and now want to see the process through to the end, or you are just interested in volunteering at Sharon MillsCounty Park, this is a great opportunity to plant some trees. Registration is required by emailing carlislec@washtenaw.org. Volunteers should be prepared for working off-trail, with possibly muddy conditions. Tree planting will be led by Stewardship Manager, Allison Krueger.

Over the past two years, this Bob Ross-inspired event has generated more than $600,000 for tree planting and efforts to protect forests in Michigan and has resulted in the planting of 2,100 trees in 20 different parks across the state. In addition to the tree planting, the money raised supports other forest protection efforts (such as invasive plant and forest pest management and early detection surveys) in state parks and recreation areas, including locations affected by tree pests and diseases like emerald ash borer and oak wilt.

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by Sara Swanson

Sara Swanson is an editor, writer and founder of the Manchester Mirror.