At the Legore Boys and Girls Club, dozens of kids came to check out four new trees that were planted on the westside club’s grounds as part of a day of service.
While adults planted the trees on May 9, kids like 9-year olds Axel Taylor and Ma’kenzi Freeman helped add the finishing touches. With a shovel and bare hands, both added mulch to the base of the trees to protect soil moisture and ensure they get a healthy start.
Ma’kenzi Freeman, 9, helps to spread mulch, May 9, 2024. Credit: Enrique Saenz/Mirror Indy 
Axel Taylor, 9, helps at the Boys & Girls of Indianapolis Legore Unit Thursday, May 9, 2024. Credit: Enrique Saenz/Mirror Indy 
Two of four newly planted trees at the Boys & Girls of Indianapolis Legore Unit Thursday, May 9, 2024. Credit: Enrique Saenz/Mirror Indy
Both of the kids are regulars at the Boys and Girls Club, coming there most days after school. Taylor said helping plant the new trees made him feel like he was making a difference in his neighborhood.
“After a long day, it does feel good in my heart to help,” Taylor said. “Somebody’s going to feel better because of the tree.”
Freeman, like Taylor, said their neighborhood could always use more trees.
“They help people breathe,” she said. “And, sometimes, they have delicious fruit that people can eat.”
[This Haughville group teaches students all about holistic gardening practices.]
Boys and Girls Clubs throughout Indiana held the day of service in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month and the mental health challenges faced by kids and teens in Indiana. In all, 120 new trees were planted at clubs around the state.
According to the Indiana Youth Institute, a nonprofit that studies the wellbeing of children, nearly 36% of Indiana kids and teens felt so sad or hopeless for two or more weeks in a row that they stopped doing their usual activities.
Trees can help with that.
Studies have found that a walk in the woods can help reduce the amount of stress-causing hormones, called cortisol, for at least a short while, and can even help children with attention deficits concentrate. One German study found that just living near a tree is linked to a lower rate of antidepressant use.
But while four trees will not improve the mental health of kids by themselves, concerted efforts, like Mayor Joe Hogsett’s Thrive Indianapolis plan for 30,000 new trees or Gov. Eric Holcomb’s recently completed directive to plant 1 million trees, could help improve the odds for successful treatment.
Mirror Indy reporter Enrique Saenz covers west Indianapolis. Contact him at 317-983-4203 or enrique.saenz@mirrorindy.org. Follow him on X @heyEnriqueSaenz.
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