December 1, 2024

As temperatures drop and fall settles in, employees remain committed to tree planting efforts within our six-state service area.

Members of our Green Team in northeast Ohio recently braved the rain and muddy trails to tackle one of their largest projects of the year – planting 1,600 trees in Youngstown State University’s Legacy Forest at the Mill Creek MetroParks’ Collier Preserve in Mahoning County. Each tree planted symbolizes an incoming freshman.

While the wet weather created cold conditions for volunteers, Advanced Scientist Jessica Shaffer says the rain will make a big difference in the trees’ ability to successfully grow at the park after a particularly dry year.

“Showing up to work in the rain emphasizes the commitment of these volunteers to bettering their community and helping the environment. I commend them, because it will absolutely benefit the trees they planted,” said Jessica. “The trees are very young and need a lot of water when they are transplanted to establish their root system and grow.”

Trees play a vital role in stabilizing the environment by absorbing carbon, soaking up stormwater that can cause erosion and preserving streams and riverbanks while simultaneously beautifying the landscape. They also provide food and cover wildlife needs to thrive.

The Ohio Green Team’s effort has helped us inch closer to our milestone of 100,000 trees planted by volunteers across our service territory since the effort began in 2020. This team of employees volunteer their time and talents to support a wide variety of environmental initiatives, including park cleanups, pollinator initiatives and more.

This was the second year in a row that FirstEnergy teamed with Youngstown State University to donate and plant 1,600 trees in its Legacy Forrest. FirstEnergy has also donated more than 4,000 trees in recent years to the Mill Creek MetroParks, and company volunteers have held planting events at various locations within the park system.