In October, Jenna Mason Media donated three ponderosa pine seedlings to TCAT.  The question of getting them planted was brought to TCAT’s Tree Action Group, and Rebecca McMillin-Hastings (Capital High School Climate Club President) volunteered to take on the project. Here is Rebecca’s story about her progress so far.

Hi, I’m Rebecca McMillin-Hastings, president of the Capital Climate Club (CCC). I recently received three Ponderosa Pine seedlings from TCAT, and my goal is to grow them, updating every once in a while on how they’re doing.

The first problem I ran into was where I could plant them, and pretty fast I came to the conclusion that our property couldn’t handle all three. Ponderosa Pines grow about one hundred feet tall and have a branch spread twenty-five feet wide, much too large to be able to fit three. After discussion with my friends the secretary/treasurer of CCC (Elsie Sabel) took one and I turned my attention to the other two. I was scratching my head for a while, until I realized that it might be possible to plant one at my high school, Capital, as a climate club project and a symbol of carbon sequestration. We’re still figuring out what the details of such an arrangement would have to be, but I have high hopes that we’ll be able to make it happen.

For now, the two seedlings have been potted and are sitting on my front lawn. They seem to be doing well and I’m excited to watch them grow!