Another ‘Day of Service’ Memorable

By the end of the day on November 11 another Veterans Day observance had come and gone, and with it the ‘Day of Service’ event for member companies of the Minnesota Society of Arboriculture (MSA). During that day, the tree care community banded together to honor the men and women of our Armed Forces at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. Rainbow Treecare was there.

Rainbow and other companies from the Minneapolis/St Paul area returned to pick up where they had left off the previous year -- removing deadwood and raising the canopies of the cemetery’s trees. The goal was (and is) to improve the health and beauty of the cemetery’s landscape, while also making the area safer and less obstructing for visitors.

During the past three years, Rainbow and others have donated their people and equipment toward the fulfillment of this goal. Rainbow’s Consulting Arborists, climbers, and ground crew members joined in with the effort.  Rainbow was one of the founding companies when the ‘Day of Service’ concept was developed in 2003.

According to Rainbow customer service representative (CSR) Alice Kirchhoff, “What an effort it was! We trimmed a number of trees in the northwest part of the cemetery, generally improving the overall appearance of the trees and landscape.”

“The day was perfect for being outside. The sun was shining, the sky was a brilliant blue, and there was just enough of a breeze so that our volunteers didn’t over-heat. Despite the roaring of chippers and chainsaws, we could hear the leaves crunching under our feet and the occasional plane passing far overhead.  It was a remarkable day.”

Another person observed, “Being among the final resting places of so many people who have served our country, on Veteran’s Day, was both beautiful and solemn. The rows of white tombstones, resting beneath branches reaching up toward the sky, were moving.”

As in the past, the event was chaired and organized by MSA member Jim Ostvig of Ostvig Tree, Inc.  Jim reported that 48 people volunteered their time this year, which was 12 more than last year. ”There was a real nice article in the Star Tribune the following day,” Jim added. “It all seemed to go really well.”

Hennepin Technical College Arborist instructor John Sirbasku also contributed.  Mr. Sirbasku brought his Advanced Tree Climbing class students to apply their recently developed pruning and tree climbing skills to a worthy cause.  A practicing commercial Arborist himself, Sirbasku teaches at the Brooklyn Park campus.

At Rainbow Treecare, our employees feel it is imperative that we fulfill our roles as stewards of the urban forest. We want to see the trees of our community, and the people who live there, flourish. Through our commitment to the MSA ‘Day of Service’, we attempt in one small way, to work toward that end.

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