One Airdrie Scout group has done their part to make Airdrie a more beautiful place and raise funds to make sure they can do even more to make that happen.

The 1st Airdrie Scouts embarked on their first ever Christmas "Tree-Cycling" program over the past two weekends and Scout Leader Rob Noble said, for the first year, it's been a great success.

"We were just looking for opportunities to expand our community service and potential fundraisers for our group.  Last year I came across a news article from a group down in the States that were doing something similar and we decided we'd see if we could put something together this year and it's been a really good success."

Noble says they divided the city into five quadrants and sent the scout out over four days to pick up the trees.  "We sent the guys out in trucks and trailers to pick up the trees.  I think we've collected upwards of 100 trees this year [as of Saturday] and it's been really great to get the support of the community."

Trees will be taken to the Airdrie Recycling Depot where they'll be turned into mulch and used around the city for compost in Airdrie parks.  

The Scouts did the Christmas tree pickup as a community service, which is an important aspect of the Scouting movement.  They did have a recommended donation of $10 for each pickup.  For a donation of $20 or more, the Scouts would plant a sapling from Water Valley Forest Nursery this spring on the donor's behalf.  That's just one thing the Scouts are doing to keep Airdrie beautiful, according to Noble.

"We're putting together an event in the springtime.  We're trying to work with the other Airdrie Scout troops to get a community thing going and plant a whole bunch of trees and get the parks cleaned up.  We're looking at trying to get the kids into the creeks to catch the invasive species.  Just kind of helping our community be a better place."

Noble says while they haven't firmed up dates for the event, it will likely take place in April or May.

 

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