- April 25, 2024
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Bill Butler, city of Palm Coast landscape architect and Rotary Club of Flagler County member, instructs volunteers on how to correctly plant a longleaf pine. Photo by Paige Wilson
Rotary Club of Flagler Beach member Laura Biddle uses her body weight to penetrate the soil with a shovel. "It's a workout," she said. Photo by Paige Wilson
Emma Loftus, granddaughter of Rotary Club of Flagler County President Tracy Loftus, pats the soil around the longleaf pine with District 6970 Governor Elect Jeanette Loftus. Photo by Paige Wilson
President of the Flagler County Rotary Club Tracy Loftus pulls a wheelbarrow of longleaf pines to place at the designated tree locations. Photo by Paige Wilson
Emma Loftus carries empty pots after Rotary Club members planted the pines. Photo by Paige Wilson
Palm Coast resident Landon Bushnoe stands in a truck bed with the longleaf pines. Photo by Paige Wilson
Piper sits in the preserve as volunteers plant longleaf pines. Photo by Paige Wilson
Rotary Club of Palm Coast member Bebe Kelly moves the soil around the newly planted longleaf pine. Photo by Paige Wilson
About 60 volunteers from the three local rotary clubs gather to plant 220 longleaf pines. Photo courtesy of Carl Laundrie
As the morning gloom cleared, about 60 members of the three local Rotary Clubs rolled into Princess Place Preserve on Saturday, March 31, to plant 220 longleaf pines in an open field near the eagle nest observation site.
The project was done in response to a call by Rotary International President Ian Riseley for the international organization's members to plant 1.2 million trees — one for every Rotarian.
Volunteers from the Rotary Clubs of Flagler County, Palm Coast and Flagler Beach dug holes and placed the trees around the about one-acre space, covering each hole with the surrounding soil.
The effort was spearheaded by the Rotary Club of Flagler County President Tracy Loftus and organized by Mike Kuypers and Bill Butler, who worked with the county to select the location. Money from all three clubs was used to purchase the seedlings.
"This is the first time we've ever done a tree planting," Butler said. "We've planted memorial trees for people before, but nothing on this scale."
The goal for Rotary International is to plant 1.2 million trees around the world by Earth Day on April 22.
"There’s something about planting a tree that speaks to people in a very primal way," Risley said in a press release. "It shows a long-term commitment to the community. Rotary does many wonderful community projects: We build playgrounds and clean up rubbish and many other things. But somehow, planting a tree captures the imagination."
