MADISON, Wis. -- Being green is the "in" thing these days. It's trendy and popular to go green, but that's not how it always was.

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One local radio station was going green long before it was cool.

"We found out that Mother Earth is a big listener of 'Triple M' and is a big fan of the Bo Deans, so we wanted to do our best to keep her happy," said morning DJ Jonathon Sutton.

Sutton said in 1994, disc jockeys at radio station 105.5 FM wanted to make a difference.

"It was people who worked for the station and wanted to get back to being hippies or people who are earth-minded," said "Green Team" coordinator Laura Byrne. "It was before green was cool. It was just because people wanted to give something back."

The project evolved into what is now known as the Triple M Green Team.

Recently, the team's volunteers took over the Owen Conservation Park on Madison's West Side.

"I think I've been green as long as I can remember," said volunteer James Davies.

Davies helped plant shrubs during the Earth Day challenge. The ponds built at the Owen Conservation Park will help collect storm water from the adjacent neighborhoods.

With the Green Team's help, the shrubs and trees will help keep sediment from the storm water from reaching Lake Mendota. It will also create wildlife habitat and give the area a "park" experience by blocking sightlines to homes in the outlying residential neighborhoods.

The challenge was one of 14 Green Team events scheduled this spring and summer.

The Green Team consists of hundreds of area volunteers who contribute when they want, share a taste in music and have a love for the environment, organizers said.

"We don't have weekly meetings; there's no required amount of projects that you have to attend," said Byrne.

"If you want to take a break you can take a break," said Davies. "They always bring food. They had ice cream today. It's not like you're doing back-breaking labor for three hours on a Saturday morning. You're outside enjoying it."

The popularity of being green is bringing in a new generation of volunteers, but some fear the surge won't last.

"It think it kind of runs the risk of people kind of getting burned out on it, like, green was "last year," as opposed to green is something that everyone needs to be continually trying to make their lives a little bit greener," said Davies.

The Green Team isn't a product of pop culture but is currently right in the middle of it. It's the volunteers that will likely keep the team alive regardless of what's "in" next.

"If everyone does their part, it makes a big difference, so I think it's important to do what you can," said Davies.

Green Team events will run through October, WISC-TV reported.

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Upcoming Green Team events