On an unseasonably warm November 15, more than 175 volunteers—ages 5 to 75—came out in t-shirts to plant trees at Bicentennial Park and along the U.S. 40 corridor. The event marked Planting #2 in TREES Inc.’s 2025 Fall Planting Tour celebrating our 35th Anniversary, and it was made even more special through our partnership with RiverSCAPE and the Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department. Volunteers helped plant 75 native hardwood and understory trees in and around the new parking areas and walkways of Bicentennial Park, as well as along the route connecting the park to the Wabashiki Trail. Another 40 trees were planted in early December on the north side of U.S. 40 just across from the park. Reviving a Historic Vision For more than a decade, TREES Inc. and RiverSCAPE had dreamed of beautifying the area west of the bridge. This planting finally made that vision a reality—and it marked TREES Inc.’s first project outside the Terre Haute city limits. The site itself carries nearly a century of history. In the 1920s, the area was envisioned as Paul Dresser Memorial Park, a civic landscape anchored by a formal circular drive and framed by a grand “necklace” of sycamore trees—part of the historic emerald necklace, a 40-mile greenway designed by famed landscape architect George Kessler. Over the years, many of these sycamores were lost to storms and age. But on this November morning, volunteers helped “re-jewel the necklace” by planting 27 new sycamores, restoring a beloved piece of the community’s past. A Community Effort in Every Sense This planting brought together an enthusiastic mix of people: local families, Rose-Hulman and ISU students, the EARTHlings, North High School ROTC cadets, employees from GE Aviation and Elanco, AOPi and PiKA members, Riverscape volunteers, Vigo County Parks staff, and TREES Inc. members. Together, they transformed a former industrial area into a greener, healthier landscape. As volunteers dug, several unearthed small “archaeological treasures” from the area’s industrial past—a reminder of the layers of history beneath Bicentennial Park. Safety remained a priority, with gloves required for all and first-aid support readily available. Powered by Grants—and People This project was made possible through a $25,000 matching grant from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Community Urban Forestry Assistance program. And the match wouldn’t have been possible without the volunteer hours donated by so many community members. A Milestone Year of Planting The Bicentennial Park event was one of three Fall 2025 plantings led by TREES Inc. Altogether, more than 300 new trees—representing over $70,000 in state, federal, and community foundation funding—were planted across Vigo County. Additional locations included the neighborhood south of Union Hospital, Ohio Boulevard, and Thompson and Brittle Bank Parks. Growing the TREES Inc. Community Many volunteers told us how meaningful it felt to look around—muddy, tired, proud—and see how 75 new trees and 175 neighbors could reshape a landscape in just a few hours.