Conservation authority, London construction company partner in tree-planting effort

The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA) is teaming up with a London-based construction company to improve the city’s environment.

Over the past four days, more than 300 students from the Thames Valley District School Board have helped plant 1,000 trees on a piece of land owned by Dancor Construction Limited.

“Dancor’s goal is to use native trees, wildflowers and grasses to create an environment in which bees, butterflies and birds will flourish and develop,” said Sean Ford, one of the company’s managing partners.

Starting Monday, students helped officials plant 10 different species of trees — white spruce, hackberry, red maple, sugar maple, Kentucky coffee, large, chokecherry, birch, and white cedar. The project is managed through UTRCA’s community forestry program.

Karen Pugh, resource specialist at the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, said the activity fits with the students’ academic curriculum by educating them on the ecosystem.

“It is more than just coming out here to plant trees.”

The location being used for the plantation is land left over from one of Dancor’s previous projects.

Jacqueline Femelon, a representative at Dancor, said the company wants to replace the trees that were cut down for the intended building.

The four-day project ended Thursday, but Dancor is holding another planting event on May 26 and plans to continue working on the land by putting down more landscaping.