By Lisa Carolin
It took just over an hour for Pierce Park to get its newest tree, a Frasier Fir on Saturday, Sept. 10, thanks to Girl Scout troops 41097 and 42810 of Chelsea, along with help from Traveling Trees of Chelsea.
The former tree, which is lit each December as the kick-off for Chelsea’s Hometown Holiday festivities, was diseased and dying.
Troop 41097 (eighth-graders) and Troop 42810 (10th-graders) were working on specific badges – Media journey-how different media can be used to change the world, and Sow What Journey — improving plants and animals’ carbon footprint on the world.
“We were looking for a way to complete both badges with a project they could work on together,” said Girl Scout Leader Anita Mosier. “The tenth-grade girls were in charge of researching trees, best environmental and best time of year to transplant, and the eighth-grade girls were in charge of promoting public awareness of what we were trying to accomplish by using different media to get the word out about our fundraising efforts to our community and what the project was about.”
The Girl Scouts contacted Bob Pierce, executive director of the Chelsea Area Chamber of Commerce, which oversees Hometown Holiday, and then met with Chelsea City Manager John Hanifan to present their plan to replace the tree.
A bowling fundraiser in May and an online donation drive helped the scouts raise more than $1,000, and they chose the 24-foot tall Frasier Fir from Traveling Trees’ stock.
“We are working with Holiday Light Express to decorate the tree at the end of October with lights we have asked them to leave permanently,” said Mosier. “We are coordinating with the Rotary Club to manage the upkeep of the lights as I understand they have been doing for many years.”
When the new tree was set in its new home at Pierce Park, the girl scouts gathered around it, and Mosier said, “It looks like it was meant to be here.”
