“Look at you. You’re a small army,” said Brittany VanderWall, district forester with the Presque Isle Conservation District, encouraging the eager workers recently. “The Rogers City tree army.”

On a recent Saturday, that “tree army” — about 30 people — dug holes, dumped fertilizer, filled in dirt, spread mulch, and carried water for about 500 tree saplings planted in a patch of sandy soil south of the Little League fields in Rogers City, News staff writer Julie Riddle reported.

Organized by the Presque Isle Conservation District and nonprofit environmental agency Huron Pines, the planting will, as the trees grow, provide filtration via the trees’ roots for stormwater running across the wetland into Lake Huron.

Such hands-on activities also forge an emotional connection between residents and their environment, organizers told Riddle.

Northeast Michigan values its natural resources, which surround us on all sides and make our region one of the most beautiful — nay, the most beautiful — in Michigan.

Many people work hard to keep our natural resources plentiful and healthy, such as the “tree army” that got to work recently in Rogers City.

To that army and to everyone who works hard to keep our region beautiful, we say a hearty and heartfelt thanks.