Planting Trees & Growing Community

Planting trees builds community. Collaborating with our community partners, Tree Trust added 4,849 trees to the urban canopy this spring. An important part of the Tree Trust mission centers on replanting the urban forest. Our work is made possible through community support and community connection. Tree Trust planting volunteer Mike was inspired by the welcoming spirit of our planting events, connecting with people over a shared passion for environmental stewardship. “Everyone here was complete strangers before I got here. Now we are all on a first name basis and we are planting trees together. It’s a great sense of comradery.” To all the good people in the Tree Trust community who showed up and got their hands dirty with us, thank you! 

Community Volunteers: Building Community Wealth 

Vibrant communities are green. Our volunteers who plant trees in public parks, at elementary schools, in local neighborhoods, and along city boulevards are grateful to help beautify places they can enjoy with their families and friends. Many hope that by planting trees they can inspire others to do the same in their community. Jeremy, a community volunteer, mentioned that planting trees had a profound impact on him because it allowed him to bond with his children. “Being able to dig in the dirt with my children and teach them about what the power of a tree can do was most memorable for me.” Engaging community is how Tree Trust brings people together to make their neighborhoods greener and grow valuable relationships. 

Corporate Volunteerism: Trending Green 

Tree Trust thanks all our corporate community partners for donating to our planting events and for encouraging their employees to volunteer to plant trees with us. Here is what some of our corporate volunteers had to share about their tree planting experiences. 

“The most memorable [thing] for me was getting my hands dirty. Sometimes, when you are in corporate America the amount of time you spend at a desk doing paperwork is tough. Where you really do the most good is when you can break away from those desks and those computers and get out here and become one with not only nature but with the community.” ─ Lenny, planting volunteer 

“This is just a fun thing. You know, I didn’t think I would have so much fun helping the environment. Not only are trees pretty, but they are really valuable to our life and ecosystem.” ─ Michael, planting volunteer 

The best times to plant trees are in the spring and the fall, and we have more plantings coming up in just a few months. Please reach out for more information if your company would enjoy engaging in volunteerism by planting trees as a staff team.  

 

Community Action: Urban Trees 

Growing shade in urban spaces surrounded by concrete adds beauty to our cities while cooling the temperature. In North Minneapolis, we collaborated with Juxtaposition Arts, a non–profit organization that engages and employs urban artists, to landscape their new building and adjacent skatepark. In Saint Paul, our Career Pathways participants planted trees and native plants with Capitol Region Watershed District (CRWD) outside their office building. Working with the good people at CRWD, whose mission is to manage and improve water resources, provided a wonderful experience for our youth participants. 

Community Partners in Action: Gratitude 

Tree Trust partnered with municipalities, corporations, government agencies, and our friends in the nonprofit sector throughout the Twin Cities metro to add more trees to the urban canopy. 

Thanks to everyone who helped plant more trees by donating to our Green Futures campaign. 

We are grateful to all of the community leaders and organizations who volunteered, donated to plantings (Thermo King – Trane Technologies, HoneyHill Weddings, U.S. Bank in partnership with Arbor Day Foundation) or sponsored entire plantings (CenterPoint Energy, City of Minneapolis Commercial Property Developement Fund , Delta Air Lines, Subaru of Rochester, Wells Fargo) with Tree Trust this spring. 

Thanks to all the municipalities who partnered with us this spring to fund tree plantings and provide discounted trees to homeowners: the cities of Brooklyn Park, Edina, Eden Prairie, Hopkins, Lakeville, Maplewood, Mendota Heights, Minneapolis, Minnetonka, Minnetrista,  Rochester, Roseville, Saint Paul, South St. Paul and St. Louis Park.   

Working together with our community partners, we successfully added healthy trees from a diversity of species to our urban forest. Thank you all for your support, and don’t forget to water your trees!