Chester Bowl and Amity Creek got another helping hand from employees of Loll Designs, Epicurean Cutting Surfaces, and Intectural last Thursday.

The West Duluth companies completed an annual tree planting initiative on May 26, their fourth year breaking out the shovels and getting their hands dirty. Nearly 2,500 trees were planted in two locations; a tree sparse area in the upper part of Chester Creek Park in the city of Duluth was planted with a mix of evergreen and hardwood species, and for the second year in a row a fallow field was planted with white spruce in the Amity Creek area in East Duluth. 15 employees participated in this year’s event.

The trees were planted to reduce sediment erosion at Chester and Amity where excessive sediment has put the stream on the Environmental Protection Agency’s “impaired” list.

Brothers Greg Benson and Dave Benson, co-owners of the companies, said the tree planting effort is something they do for the long-term benefit of the community and as a good experience for employees to do something together with a different focus than their normal work.

“I know that I won’t see much of the growth in my lifetime,” said Greg Benson. “You do get a sense you are doing something for the next generation, and that gives you a good perspective on what we can do here to make a positive difference for future generations of Duluthians.”

“We’ve been extremely busy again this year in all companies,” adds Dave Benson, “but I hope we will never be so busy we can’t (or won’t) take the time each year to do this.”

Info on Loll Designs, Epicurean, and Intectural:

Loll Designs manufactures outdoor furniture using recycled HDPE plastic. Epicurean manufactures cutting surfaces. Both companies sell products on a global level. Intectural is an architectural material distribution company founded in 2010.