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Plant a Tree Day 2020: Hope in Action

by Meaghan Weeden October 30, 2020 2 min read

reforestation volunteers at tree planting event plant a tree day
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Community Reforestation At Its Best: Plant A Tree Day 2020

Our third annual Plant a Tree Day looked a little different than previous years, as the global pandemic presented an unusual set of challenges — but we got it done! 455 volunteers wore masks, socially distanced, and got over 4,000 trees into the ground during 27 small, carefully planned events. Pretty good for 2020! 

Watch This Video to See What Happened at One Of Our Events!

Any time we get local communities together to plant trees, it's bound to be memorable. But this year, Plant a Tree Day took on new significance as hundreds of volunteers headed outside and got their hands in the dirt. After all, in a year like 2020, planting trees feels like the ultimate act of hope.

Toronto-CA community volunteer sitting in front of one tree planted van plant a tree day
Charlotte King Neighborhood Planting Trees
New Haven CT tree planting volunteers plant a tree day

From Toronto to Uganda, St. Louis to Nepal, in community parks and watersheds big and small, what we saw was nothing short of inspirational: everyday people just like you came together to improve their local environment. Things might have looked a little different this year, but some things never change, like the dedication showed by volunteers, the satisfaction of planting trees, and the shared drive to leave this planet a little better than we found it. 

After all, it's always the everyday people, united by a shared sense of purpose, who roll up their sleeves and create lasting change.

Here Are Just a Few Individual Event Highlights:

Lake Linganore Creek

50 volunteers planted 425 trees along Lake Linganore Creek in Frederick, MD with our partner Stream-Link Education. And they're not done yet: when all is said and done, 2,000 total trees will be planted here to clean the water and restore this crucial watershed (which provides 40% of Frederick's water supply)! 

16 different species were planted, including shadbush, river birch, hackberry, flowering dogwood, hazelnut, blackhaw, persimmon, arrowood, nine bark, winterberry, gray dogwood, silky dogwood, hophornbeam, red chuck berry, black chokeberry, and button bush.

Kasese Municipality

In Uganda, 47 volunteers planted 100 indigenous tree seedlings on Royal Hill (which overlooks the proposed Mineral City) to prevent erosion and restore the landscape. The species they planted were Abizia and Podocarpus.

Deerfield River Watershed

In Colrain, MA, 15 volunteers worked with our partner the Connecticut River Conservancy to plant 200 native seedlings and restore riverbanks that were degraded during Hurricane Irene. Tree species planted included silver maple, birch, winterberry, elderberry, and dogwood. They will also prevent erosion, reduce the impact of future storms, and help to filter the water flowing into the Deerfield River.

Nepal

In Nepal, 16 community volunteers planted 165 trees with our partner IDEAS for Us. Species planted included Kapur (Kamphur Tree), Shital Chini (Moringa Olfera), Tej Patta, Birendra Ful, and Guava.

Fishkill Creek Headwaters

In Union Vale, NY, 50 volunteers worked with our partner Riverkeeper to plant 200 native trees for watershed restoration!

Special thanks to all the on-the-ground local partners that helped make Plant A Tree Day a huge success despite the challenges presented by COVID-19!

Missed an event? Don't worry, we'll do it again next year. And in the meantime, you can still help us get trees in the ground🌿

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Meaghan Weeden
Meaghan Weeden

Meaghan works to share our story far and wide, manages our blog calendar, coordinates with the team on projects + campaigns, and ensures our brand voice is reflected across channels. With a background in communications and an education in environmental conservation, she is passionate about leveraging her creativity to help the environment!