Donation part of program between ATC-Bucks
By Jason Arndt
Editor
Courtesy of a program partnership between the American Transmission Company and Milwaukee Bucks, Salem Grade School received 20 trees on Nov. 30, when students and administrators collaborated with Paul Swartz Nursery to plant them on school property.
The program, according to ATC spokesperson Alissa Braatz, is known as Trees for Threes.
“This program offers Wisconsin communities a new tree for each three-point shot the Bucks made at home during the 2016-17 season,” said Braatz, noting the partnership between the two organizations started in 2016.
Salem District Administrator David Milz said ATC, which plans to offer electrical service for the Spring Valley-North Lake Geneva project, approached the school about becoming a Trees for Threes beneficiary about a year ago.
Milz believes the new trees will help reduce wind gusts and offer more soil control in the future.
“We were definitely interested in being part of the program and to have the opportunity to receive free trees,” he said. “The trees we planted will one day provide shade and also serve as a wind barrier, not to mention reduce water erosion.”
The trees, meanwhile, came from an ATC property at the site of the Balsam substation on Highway 50.
The Balsam substation, according to Braatz, is part of the Spring Valley-North Lake Geneva project that will have a 23-mile transmission line.
“The new line will eventually cross the southern edge of Salem School,” Braatz said.
As the trees grow and prosper, Milz said the new vegetation could revive the property, noting the trees add color.
“The trees will simply look nice and add to the beauty of our school property,” he said. “We are happy that ATC, Swartz Nursery, and the Milwaukee Bucks organization teamed up for this project.”
For ATC, the company looks to complete the Spring Valley-North Lake Geneva project by 2020, Braatz said.