Hospitals across the health system and Home Health and Hospice worked with Intervale Center to supply more than 2,100 native trees and shrubs to employees
Burlington, VT – Promoting health and wellness in the communities University of Vermont Health Network serves does not begin or end in the hospitals, long-term care facilities, outpatient clinics and community-based health centers that serve a region of more than 1 million people in Vermont and northern New York.
Each year to celebrate Earth Day, health system employees in Vermont have planted trees at their homes and in their communities to support and celebrate a healthy and vibrant environment. The trees and shrubs from Intervale Center are native species to the region and integrate seamlessly into each community’s natural habitat.
This year, that effort grew from employees at two partner hospitals — University of Vermont Medical Center and UVM Health Network – Porter Medical Center — to include nearly every organization in the health system. Organizers at Home Health and Hospice, UVM Health Network – Alice Hyde Medical Center, UVM Health Network – Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital (CVPH), and UVM Health Network – Elizabethtown Community Hospital also joined in the effort for the first time.
“We were thrilled to take part,” said Kristin Walsh, RN, CHWC, an employee health nurse at Home Health and Hospice and the organizer of their local effort, which distributed 150 trees and shrubs to employees. “We work tirelessly to take care of others, even in the toughest of circumstances. That’s why we wanted to share local saplings from the Intervale with employees. Human beings are inseparable from their environments and tree-planting is important for the health and well-being of our staff.”
At UVM Health Network – Elizabethtown Community Hospital, organizers said employees jumped at the chance to take care of the planet and have a little fun. The group incorporated Earth Day-related trivia into the celebration, with employees answering questions as part of a quiz to earn a tree or shrub. Employees planted 75 trees and shrubs as part of the hospital’s celebration.
“It was something we all looked forward to that was fun and takes care of our planet at the same time,” said Michelle Meachem, SHRM-CP, PHR, director of human resources for the hospital.
The health system provided a wide variety of trees and shrubs from Intervale Center at each partner organization. Tree species distributed included Red Maple, Red Dogwood, American Basswood, Northern White Cedar and White Spruce. Shrubs distributed included Aronia, Elderberry and Nannyberry.
“This is the second year Porter has been involved, and it was fun to hear people talk about how last year’s tree was doing and them looking forward to planting this year,” said Amanda Froeschle, MPH, senior community health liaison at UVM Health Network – Porter Medical Center and a local organizer of the Earth Day celebration with Michael Eaton, BSN, RN of the hospital’s Employee Health and Wellness department.
Froeschle said red maples, dogwoods and elderberries were employees’ favorite plantings this year. American Meadows donated packets of wildflower seeds, which were distributed alongside the trees and shrubs.
“Our staff were definitely thrilled to be taking part,” said Eaton. “Some mentioned that planting and watching things grow is emotionally healthy for them.”
CVPH in Plattsburgh, where employee planted 600 trees and shrubs, held the second-largest planting, behind only UVM Medical Center, where 675 trees and shrubs were planted by employees at the hospital and 325 were planted by employees at Fanny Allen.
“Participation was extremely high,” said Alissa Rabideau, program manager for Occupational Health and Wellness at CVPH and the local organizer. “People can’t wait to get home and plant their new tree or shrub.”
In Malone, New York, UVM Health Network – Alice Hyde Medical Center employees planted 150 trees and shrubs.
“By planting native trees and shrubs, you help provide food and shelter for birds, bees and wildlife,” said Stephanie Barse, program manager in the hospital’s Occupational Health and Wellness department and the local organizer. “Native plants are adapted to our unique climate and soils, don’t compete with existing plant communities, and add beauty and interest to the landscape.”