During some of the week’s only sunny hours, Newtown High School Forestry Club and National Honor Society students met Aquarion Water Company volunteers along the banks of the Pootatuck River to plant trees on April 29.

The Earth Day event was arranged as part of Aquarion’s initiatives to invest in its communities, according to project lead and Aquarion Director of Procurement Randy Walker.

Recent rain still lingered in the air and sunlight glinted off the nearby flowing water as Mr Walker explained the day’s project for students gathered around him near the start of the day’s efforts.

“This is a somewhat unique project where we are planting [roughly] 50 trees and shrubs to provide a riparian buffer to the Pootatuck as well as needed shade to keep this wild trout stream cooler during the stressful low flow periods during the summer and early fall,” Mr Walker explained an in e-mail. “Aquarion allows its employees to do volunteer work during normal business hours to do projects such as this.”

Along with Mr Walker, seven Aquarion employees volunteered their time for the day, and 11 NHS students traveled to the site with science teacher Fawn Georgina.

Mr Walker told the students surrounding him, shovels held ready in gardening-gloved hands, that there were a number of different types of shrubs and trees to plant.

“Since water and water supply is often taken for granted, we thought having NHS students involved in this activity would be a great opportunity to engage them in a project that provides a number of environmental benefits,” Mr Walker explained. “We also have the support of the Pootatuck Watershed Association, Candlewood Valley Trout Unlimited, and [the] Newtown Protect Our Pollinators group, who, in various ways, helped or are helping with the design, selection of plants, unloading, and handling the larger plants and the planting.”

Protect Our Pollinators member Sarah Middeleer worked on the planting design with Dan Holmes of Holmes Fine Gardens, according to Mr Walker.

The shrubs and trees will provide shade and lower the water temperature of the river to help improve the habitat for trout and other creatures, according to Mr Walker.

The group met at the Newtown Well Field, just south of the Pootatuck River bridge on Route 25, and First Selectman Dan Rosenthal attended.

Before the volunteers and NHS students broke from the group to plant trees, Mr Rosenthal told the students to “stay with it,” because the world needs smart people like them to find creative solutions for climate change.

The shrubs and trees cost roughly $3,000, and the entire project was two years in the making, according to Mr Walker.

“We thought it was a great opportunity to get the kids out,” Mr Walker reflected, as the students wandered off to dig and plant. Later he added that all of the plants chosen for the site are pollinator friendly and native.

Surveying the group and area as the work was underway, Mr Walker said, “This is about 800 feet of shoreline.”

While digging with NHS senior Sarah Grant, fellow senior Emma Curtis said, “I’m interested in studying environmental studies.” She volunteered for the effort because it was in line with her interests.

Nearby NHS senior Robert Disibio said he volunteered “just to help” the National Honor Society.

Sophomores Katie Jones and Nancy Chung worked together at another spot along the river. Katie said she volunteered to help because “helping the environment, I think, is a nice thing to do.”

Between shoveling to plant a tree, Ms Georgina smiled, observing her students were “out of their element, but loving it.”

Following the event, Mr Walker said everything went well, and the group completed “a lot of work.”