The Lorax may speak for the trees, but on Saturday a group filtered in and out of a field at the intersection of the U.S. 127 bypass and Perryville Road in an effort to make his job in Danville a little less necessary by planting about 700 saplings.

Joshua White, organizer of the event, is the son-in-law of Nancy Davis who owns the property. It took about four weeks of mapping, pre-planning and digging to get the property ready for planting, White said.

From young children to college students to older adults, the group planting varied wildly, but all with the same purpose in mind: to plant a tree.

“(I have) a love of trees,” said Lenette Hicks of Mercer County. She said she also came because she wanted to honor her father-in-law. “He loved trees.”

She was joined by fellow Mercer Countian Doug Cheek. The two had never met before Saturday, but were working together to plant trees.

Cheek said he, too, had a love of trees. He also came for “community involvement.”

Students from the Centre College Environmental Association were there, too, getting their hands dirty as they planted trees.

“It’s pretty cool,” said Beka Bruner. “It will be cool in a couple of years to drive past.”

She was working with Patrick Ferrell, another Centre student. Both are environmental studies majors at the college.

The trees will grow about two feet a year, said White.

It was especially important for the children to come out, he said, because it helped “foster a sense of service and stewardship going forward.”

“They can look at a tree and realize someone else did that for them,” he said.

The saplings consisted of a variety of White, Loblolly and Virginia Pines, along with Red Maples, Sycamores, American Beech and other hardwoods. In the very center of the field, White said, they were planting a Bir Oak Grove, which could potentially serve as a future backdrop for weddings and similar events.

After planting the saplings, most were surrounded with a trunk guard, to protect them as they grow. The saplings were then surrounded with mesh coverings.

The focus was on pines, because the farm is called The Pines, but the hardwoods were added to help soak up the extra moisture, he said.

White became involved in tree planting in his own community in Louisville, but said this was the largest scale project he had been involved with on this size of land.

The family selected the land, which rests behind the “Welcome to Danville” sign, because of its visibility from the road. Eventually, they will add more trees throughout the property, White said.

Follow Kendra Peek on Twitter, @knpeek.