Tired of the often depressing day-to-day of her career as a psychotherapist, Leslie Collins decided to go green.
So she joined the increasingly popular Sustainable Magnolia (SM) organization, which looks for ways the community can reduce its carbon footprint - such as starting the walking school bus concept recently employed at Lawton Elementary School.
During a meeting in July, Collins listened to SM founders Pam and Paul Lewis talk about upcoming events. When it came to Magnolia taking part in a worldwide climate-action program led by 350.org, she spoke up, "I'll do it."
The next thing she knew, she was in charge of organizing the planting of 350 trees in Discovery Park.
"It was just amazing," she said, her voice still alive from the planting event held last weekend. "The weather was awesome and sunny and warm and we couldn't have asked for better weather. We had more than 150 people there for sure."
Many of those people were Lawton Elementary parents and students, led by second-grade teacher Lyon Terry and fourth-grade teacher Peter Hubbard. Others Collins drafted by e-mail blasts, postings throughout Magnolia and even going to a school event at Ballard High School, where students are required to do a community outreach project. After a full day of planting, one of the Ballard students said he "loved it," Collins recalled.
Collins enlisted a lot of help from the community including Marian Wineman, Pam and Paul Lewis, Penny Rose, who works in Discovery Parks' environmental education program, and Cass Turnbull, who is the director of Plant Amnesty and who spoke to the volunteers prior to the planting.
Collins said had to endure some naysaying, that few people would show up and the work would be too hard. But she persevered and the visitors center at the park was full of ready workers. Hubbard and Terry had students make up banners and they even raised money, more than $500 to buy additional trees. The plan was to plant 140 Douglas Firs, 80 Red Alders, 80 Big Leaf Maples, 14 Cascaras and 10 Madrones. But with so many volunteers, another 100 trees were purchased and planted.
Collins wants to start consulting with companies on how to reduce their carbon footprint.
"If we don't do something," she said, "we'll be leaving our kids a planet, that could have severe... just nothing like what we have now."[[In-content Ad]]
