Giving gift of green

Pat Shay, superintendent at Thousand Hills Golf Course, looks on Monday at one of the more that 200 redwoods that was purchased from Gift of Green. BDN photo by Brandon Cone

By Brandon Cone
BDN Staff Writer
bcone@bransondailynews.com

A local organization isn’t only helping keep the Ozarks green, but also educating in the process.

Pat Shay says that Thousand Hills Golf Course has developed a “symbiotic” relationship with the organization “Gift of Green.”

“We have a need here to keep everything green and beautiful, and that’s their goal,” the golf course superintendent said. “Plus it helps benefit a good cause.”

Gift of Green was originally started by Jack Herschend and the organization can already be attributed as the cause to the planting of more 195,000 trees.

Shay said Thousand Hills has contributed to that cause.

“We have been getting trees from Gift of Green for more than 10 years, when the course was built,” he said pointing toward a line of trees on the golf course. “Those maple trees there are some of the first from Gift of Green that were planted here when the course opened 12 or 13 years ago.”

He estimated that as many as 400-500 trees from Gift of Green have been used on the grounds at Thousand Hills.

About 200 of those trees are redwoods, a species not native to the Ozarks, which has turned out to be a perfect addition to the course’s landscaping.

“Jack recommended those trees to me because they are not very hard to care for, and me not being much of green thumb said, ‘That sounds great,’” Shay said. “They’ve done really well here. The oldest redwood we have has been here about three years, but we have them in all stages. They grow very quickly, so you don’t have to wait 100 years to see substantial growth.”

Officials with the ranch for troubled teens say they’re involvement in the program has been beneficial. From not only a financial standpoint, but also because of their involvement.

“They do everything,” said Sheila Ortman, a part-founder of the ranch. “They work with the trees year-round, making sure that they have everything.”

Ortman said Lives Under Construction took on a partnership over Gift of Green with Herschend after helping him with the project for many years.

“We have sales in October and November of every year, where we sell trees,” Ortman said, “and even though we do get to keep all the proceeds from that, but the boys also get to learn about horticulture.”