Military members provide support to local wildlife effort

NEWMARKET, England -- Staff Sgt. Melissa Long, 352nd Special Operations Group, plants a tree during "Go Wild in Newmarket's" Tree and Hedge Planting Extravaganza, Feb. 12, 2011. Go Wild in Newmarket is a local volunteer group working to promote awareness of natural habitats in and around the nearby town of Newmarket. The event was aimed at planting 1,500 trees to form a wildlife hedge. More than 50 volunteers, including members from RAFs Lakenheath and Mildenhall, came out to participate. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Marelise Wood)

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Military members provide support to local wildlife effort

NEWMARKET, England -- Grenville Clarke, Green Light Trust, gives Airman 1st Class Samuel Devalal, 48th Communications Squadron, and his wife Katie, a demonstration in tree planting, Feb. 12, 2011, during "Go Wild in Newmarket's" Tree and Hedge Planting Extravaganza. Green Light Trust helps local wildlife groups like Go Wild in Newmarket get up and running, and assists with events such as this one. The event was aimed at planting 1,500 trees to form a wildlife hedge. More than 50 volunteers, including members from RAFs Lakenheath and Mildenhall, came out to participate. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Marelise Wood)

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Military members provide support to local wildlife effort

NEWMARKET, England -- More than 50 volunteers, including members from RAFs Lakenheath and Mildenhall, participated in a Tree and Hedge Planting Extravanganza, Feb. 12, 2011, in support of "Go Wild in Newmarket's" endeavor to plant 1,500 trees to form a wildlife hedge. The group is made up of local volunteers focused on promoting awareness of natural habitats. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Marelise Wood)

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Military members provide support to local wildlife effort

Published Feb. 15, 2011
By Tech. Sgt. Marelise Wood
352nd Special Operations Group Public Affairs

RAF MILDENHALL, England -- About 50 members of Team Mildenhall said "no" to sleeping in Feb. 12 and instead decided to do something for their community.

"Go Wild in Newmarket," a local all-volunteer wildlife group founded in 2008, aims to create wild spaces and pockets of woodland in residential areas. To this end, they have embarked upon a project to create a wildlife hedge, made up of 1,500 trees, along one of two meadows that the group manages in the nearby town of Newmarket. With only six or seven active committee members, the group needed help with the project.

Once Team Mildenhall members were notified of the volunteer opportunity, the response was almost instantaneous.

"Within the first hour [of sending out the e-mail], I already had 35 volunteers," said Staff Sgt. Marissa Miller, 352nd Special Operations Group and a member of Team 5/6. "It was incredible."

Staff Sgt. Melissa Long, 352nd SOG, didn't have to think twice about volunteering.

"I really enjoy doing things that help the environment and this was a fun way to do that," she said. "It's an added bonus that we're also helping out the local community."

The partnership-building support from the military members was not lost on the event organizers.

"The turnout was just fantastic," said Peter Cornelissen, Go Wild in Newmarket. "We were done in less than half the time we thought it would take. It really was unbelievable!"