What tree is that? New QR codes answer your questions
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Have you ever seen a tree in Michigan and you didn’t know what kind it was but wished you did? Well, two organizations have teamed up to help you out.
With help from the DTE Foundation, Releaf Michigan has been able to place QR codes at some of its plantings not just here in West Michigan, but the entire state.
“This was a great opportunity provided by the DTE Foundation to take our hands-on educational efforts one step further,” Melinda Jones, the executive director of Releaf Michigan, said.
You can find the codes on metal tags in locations where Releaf has planted trees. They fall on a variety of species and give the official name of the tree, its Latin name and the QR code. When scanned, the code takes users to a webpage that goes over that specific planting.
The QR codes allow residents in the area to not only learn the names of the trees planted but also how they interact with the local ecosystem. The educational aspect of the codes was a huge reason why the DTE Foundation got involved.
“One of the things that we saw that there was an opportunity, and Releaf identified it, was making sure that communities had a little bit more information about what was going on and what these trees were and how they fit into our ecosystem here in Michigan,” Rodney Cole, the president of the DTE Foundation, said.
Releaf said that there are over 600 tags across Michigan through this program with a few dozen happening on the western part of the state. There are locations in Wyoming and Muskegon.
Jones said she hopes that these tags will also invite residents to go out and volunteer with the organization to plant more trees or possibly plant their own trees in their yard after learning about the positives each species brings.
“Hopefully it’s enough of an educational technology combo that you can get the family out there walking around doing the QR codes and learning about the trees and then ideally they say, ‘OK, we need to plant trees,'” she said. “This is now giving us a good solid base of what we might plant because all of the trees which are planted have been specially selected for that planting location.”
You can find out where the QR codes are located across the state on the Releaf Michigan website.
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