By: Dean Vaglia | Macomb Chronicle | Published May 22, 2023
MACOMB TOWNSHIP — Two students are meeting the threat of climate change head-on in Macomb Township.
Nethanya Fonseka and Nick Hooton, residents of Macomb and Chesterfield townships, respectively, and ninth graders at the International Academy of Macomb in Clinton Township, are on a mission to plant trees across Michigan starting in their hometowns under the name Plant it Forward.
“We want to plant trees in Michigan because we’re both very passionate about nature and the environment, and we also know that Michigan has a goal to plant (50 million) trees by 2030, Fonseka said. “(The mission of) Plant it Forward is to contribute to that, and we also want to combat climate change as well.”
In Macomb Township, Plant it Forward works to restore vegetation to land that has been depleted by farming or construction. One of the key parts of the duo’s approach is the use of a special kind of poplar tree engineered by California bioscience firm Living Carbon.
“(The trees) are extremely significant in the fight against climate change because they can sequester up to 50% more carbon than a regular tree can,” Fonseka said. “By doing this, if we’re looking at fighting climate change through planting trees, planting these poplars will be extremely important in this because it reduces the overall number of trees to plant, but it achieves the same goal.”
According to an article published in the peer-reviewed journal Science, the trees are made by using a bacteria to combine genes from pumpkins and green algae with poplar tree genes. This lowers the trees’ rate of photorespiration — the tree’s need to remove phosphoglycolate, a byproduct of photosynthesis — and enables them to recycle carbon from phosphoglycolate to growth-aiding sugars. Similar work has been researched with tobacco plants.
Aside from their enhanced carbon-capturing ability, the trees were chosen because poplars are native to Michigan. Choosing depleted soils rather than healthy soil was also done to prevent any chance of contamination from the trees.
After approaching Macomb Township and receiving permission to plant trees on municipal land, Fonseka reached out to Living Carbon and received a donation of seeds. With those seeds and a supportive township, Fonseka and Hooton were joined by Township Treasurer Leon Drolet and Parks Supervisor Ken DalPra on Arbor Day to plant 100 of the Living Carbon trees around the township’s parks.
“It was muddy, but we got out pretty much right before the rain,” Hooton said. “The weather was nice. It was cool outside. But as far as the planting process, a lot of the land was already humanly-interacted with so it was pretty bad (soil) conditions, a lot of clay soils, but … (the trees’) main purpose is fixing previously developed land.”
The successful planting in Macomb Township has proven to be just the beginning of Plant it Forward’s relationship with the township. The duo is currently working to construct a heritage garden — filled with native trees once common to the region — as a gift to the township to provide the old Macomb Township Hall with a period-correct environment once it is relocated to a site near the township’s new municipal plaza. Pitchford Park, now under construction, is another Macomb Township place Fonseka and Hooton see as ideal for tree planting.
Even still, the duo looks to spread their mission beyond Macomb Township’s borders.
Some kind of connection with Green Macomb is being sought since Fonseka believes the Living Carbon trees can assist with the goal of increasing Macomb County’s urban tree canopy while also sequestering carbon. Hooton’s home of Chesterfield Township is another specific municipality the duo wishes to plant in.
Nethanva’s mother, Ramila, has been supportive of their cause, shuttling the two around the township and, with talk of rare seeds for the heritage garden becoming available in northern Michigan, around the state.
“They are just unstoppable,” Ramila said. “They are very passionate kids, so they’re very unstoppable. It’s been really sweet and inspiring for me, because my generation has already grown, and they’re so young and so conscious of tomorrow and so community minded. It’s inspiring to watch them.”
Those looking to find out more about Plant it Forward can visit plantitforward.my.canva.site. Anyone with more information about planting opportunities can contact Plant it Forward at plantitforwardMI@outlook.com.