Training our veterans while helping the environment looks to be a win-win solution for all. This article from the Denver Post.com, by Colleen O’Conner reports how this program is teaching skills that can be used for future green jobs.
Desert Storm cap planted on his head, Dan Higginbotham installed free shade trees Tuesday in front yards along Zuni Street, hauling mulch and watering the roots.
“It’s nice to have work,” the veteran of the 1990s Persian Gulf War said.
Higginbotham and six other homeless veterans are part of Veterans City Canopy, a new program that is training them to be urban foresters.
“It’s a wonderful trade to get into because nothing stops growing,” said Dyana Lynch, an Army Gulf War veteran.
The initiative was recently launched by Veterans Green Jobs, a Denver nonprofit that helps homeless veterans get the skills and experience to join the green-jobs economy.
The program has a contract to plant free shade trees in homeowners’ front yards as part of Greenprint Denver’s The Mile High Million program, which aims to plant 1 million trees by 2025. Over the next five growing seasons, 35 vets will plant 4,600 trees that will shade homes to reduce energy usage and lower energy bills.
“We’re the pioneers,” said Frederick Sales, a veteran who years ago studied soil sciences and forestry at Ohio State University.
Last week, as part of their field work, they practiced planting trees at local elementary schools.
“The kids came out and helped,” Sales said. “They were really on it. Kids can really dig holes.”
