Run the weekly watering round for the South Side's young trees (2026-08-03)

Billings summers are dry and windy, and a young tree without a weekly deep soak in its first two summers is a dead tree. The South Side's new plantings live or die by whether someone owns this route. Standard: ISA young-tree establishment care guidance; SDG 15 (Life on Land). Proof: photo log of the watering round with route notes Method (ISA young-tree establishment care guidance; SDG 15 (Life on Land).): 1. Walk or cart the mapped route of young trees with water. 2. Give each tree a slow 10-to-15-gallon soak at the root zone. 3. Top up mulch rings and note damage or stress. 4. Update the route log for every tree. 5. Photograph three representative watered trees, GPS-tagged and dated. Done when: Photos of at least three watered trees; Route log listing every tree watered; GPS coordinates and date

Where

Young trees along 6th Ave S, Billings, MT 59101

Pay

$152 proposed

This packet is not funded yet, so this figure is a proposed price and not money waiting in escrow. If a buyer funds it, approved proof settles that price onchain. If nobody funds it, approved proof earns provable credit toward the work instead of cash. You see which before you claim, never after.

Proof

photo log of the watering round with route notes

This is exactly what gets it approved. Nothing settles without it.

Level

entry

Open until

2026-08-10

How this work is done

A documented method, so this packet comes out the same whoever does it. Typically 45–90 minutes. Method of record: ANSI A300 Part 6 (Planting) + ISA Best Management Practices for tree planting & establishment; Arbor Day Foundation planting standard. DIY-safe volunteer planting on cleared, utility-marked ground; no mechanized or utility-conflict digging.

Bring

• GPS-capable phone
• camera
• round-point shovel + digging fork
• hand pruners
• mulch (wood chips) + measuring stick
• watering can or hose
• gloves + closed-toe boots

Steps

1. 1. Confirm the planting spot is inside the posting radius and clear of marked utilities (811 locate honored); record the GPS waypoint.
2. 2. Photograph the bare site and the nursery stock (label/species visible) before planting.
3. 3. Dig the hole 2-3x the root-ball width and no deeper than the root ball, so the root flare will sit at or just above grade.
4. 4. Remove the container or cut away burlap/wire, gently loosen circling roots, and set the tree with the root flare visible at grade.
5. 5. Backfill with the native soil in layers, firming out air pockets; do not bury the root flare or amend heavily.
6. 6. Build a shallow watering basin, water in slowly until the backfill is saturated, and apply 2-3 inches of mulch kept 3 inches off the trunk.
7. 7. Stake only if the tree cannot stand on its own; use two loose ties that allow trunk movement, and note a removal date within one year.
8. 8. Record species, GPS, before/after photos, root-flare-at-grade confirmation, mulch depth, and water applied into the proof record; sign.

If it does not match the plan

• Unmarked or suspected buried utility, or the 811 locate is not honored -> STOP: do not dig; reschedule after a confirmed locate.
• Root ball is dry, circling/kinked, or the trunk is wounded -> do not plant as-is; soak/correct or reject the stock and note it, rather than establish a failing tree.
• Right-of-way, overhead-line conflict, or a species/site mismatch -> flag for the site steward and choose an approved spot/species; never plant into a conflict.

What counts as done

• Photos of at least three watered trees
• Route log listing every tree watered
• GPS coordinates and date

Proof is measured against these, not judged by taste.

The standard this serves

Tree Planting and Establishment. Planting a tree properly is a codified craft, and the arborists' standards are blunt about why: most young trees that die were killed at planting, by a hole dug too deep, a root ball left bound, a first summer without water. Mastery looks like trees you planted years ago still standing, which is the only measure arborists accept. The craft lives in exactly the steps this packet asks for: the wide shallow hole, the freed roots, the mulch kept off the trunk, the watering that follows. Plant one tree correctly and you know something real.