End of Summer at Tree Trust

Though the summer isn't technically over yet, Labor Day marks the unofficial end of the season for most Minnesotans. At Tree Trust, our summer season ends in August with the completion of the Summer Youth Employment Program, the summer cohort of the Young Adult Conservation Corps, and the YouthBuild advanced crew. All of the youth employment training programs work with youth in the summer months, and some work with youth year-round.

Summer is a busy time of year for our youth programs. Youth who are not in school for the summer have more time on their hands and greater need of guidance and positive activities than they do during the school year. Every summer for the past 36 years, Tree Trust has been here to provide youth with work experience, educational enrichment, and a paycheck for their summer work experience. 

So while most Minnesotans have been out enjoying the summer, Tree Trust staff have been here helping our participants find positive direction. Now that summer is closing and many of our youth participants have returned to school, we take a little time to catch our breath before we hit the ground running with fall forestry events, new crews of YouthBuild and Young Adult Conservation Corps (YACC) youth, and just generally preparing for the upcoming 2013 year.

By October, we’ll have nearly 50 youth participating with YouthBuild and YACC crews and Community Forestry has a busy autumn with Green Futures and Learning with Trees plantings. Thanks to all who have provided funding for Green Futures plantings this year – and especially to our anonymous donor who matches all of these contributions. 

Public plantings will be held in parks in Eden Prairie and Fridley in early October. Learning with Trees projects at schools in Orono and Brooklyn Park are being funded by CenterPoint Energy and Beim Foundation. We will also work with Wells Fargo and their volunteer team and a generous anonymous donor to plant more trees in selected parts of tornado-damaged North Minneapolis.

Tree Trust had a busy summer working with over 600 youth, and the break between seasons is short as we shift gears and move into our fall projects starting... now.

Community Forestry Highlights

This summer we had a great intern, Christina, who did a lot of video work for Tree Trust. We'll be posting some of her work in the coming weeks and months. Here is the first installment:

Enjoy!

Impressions of 2011 - Community Forestry

It seems as though each passing year welcomes a new threat to our urban forest. Emerald ash borer, Dutch elm disease, burr oak blight, thousand cankers, oak wilt, poor planting practices, other invasive pests, drought, and violent weather all seem to be conspiring against the beautiful trees that make the Twin Cities one of the most livable communities in the country. While many thousands of trees are lost each year to pests, disease, weather and just plain old age, our Community Forestry programming has been working hard to reverse the damage.

2011 started with celebration as one of our most dedicated volunteers, Giampaolo Malin, received a “Be the Change” award from HandsOn Twin Cities for his amazing efforts volunteering for Tree Trust. A dedicated Tree Trust Tree Trainer, Giampaolo rarely misses an opportunity to educate tree planting volunteers on proper planting techniques at our community plantings.

Spring arrived just in time for a beautiful Arbor Day planting along Hiawatha Avenue in Minneapolis. Approximately 100 volunteers got dirty planting nearly 1,000 shrubs and 50 trees on a lovely May morning. With assistance from Tree Trust’s Landscape Services and Young Adult Conservation Crews, the volunteers had enough shovels, wheel barrows and mulch to get the job done. 

 

Learning with Trees at Nellie Stone Johnson

As I increased in size (I was five months pregnant at the start of planting season), so did my staff. Diana Preisen, a former Young Adult Conservation Corps supervisor, made the leap to forestry; and Emily Hanson, a recent graduate from the University of Minnesota, came in as a summer intern. The newly expanded forestry staff was kept busy with Learning with Trees plantings at Somerset Elementary School in West St. Paul, Hilltop Primary School in Minnetrista, and Nellie Stone Johnson Community School in North Minneapolis.  Through this program, over 1,000 students participated in the planting of trees on their school grounds. If you ever have an opportunity to volunteer for our school plantings, I highly recommend it…it will brighten your day.

The ReForest St. Louis Park program brought 40 new trees to Dakota Park in St. Louis Park. Volunteers showed up bright and early eager to work. Their efforts transformed this neighborhood park in just a few short hours. It’s amazing what many hands can accomplish.

Spring with Tree Trust’s Community Forestry also brings a deluge of phone calls from eager Minneapolis and St. Louis Park residents. Tree Trust again facilitated both cities’ annual tree distributions, making 1,750 trees available to residents to plant on their properties. There’s just something about seeing a Mini Cooper drive away with a six foot tree sticking out the back that fills my heart with hope for our urban forest. Multiply that by 1,750 and you have to believe things are looking up…unless, of course, there’s a tornado. 

North Minneapolis distribution

The devastating tornado that ripped through north Minneapolis on May 22nd, ironically during the second day of the Minneapolis tree distribution, took down thousands of trees. Fortunately through fundraising efforts, Tree Trust was able to provide 207, free and low cost trees to residents who lost trees during the storm. This horribly unfortunate event led to an opportunity for Community Forestry to reach out to citizens and fulfill Tree Trust’s mission to transform lives and landscapes. We are lucky to be able to offer this opportunity again in 2012 to residents affected by the storm.

During my maternity leave, fall community plantings continued with Diana and Emily running the show. This fall included two Green Futures plantings, one in Bloomington and another in Sunfish Lake. Because of these two plantings, and the donations that made them possible, 80 more trees were added to the urban forest and approximately fifty people learned how to properly plant trees. While we may never win the war against the multitude of threats to our urban forest, the 2,200 trees we helped to get in the ground this year sure feels like we may have won at least a battle. Trees are good. Plant on.

-Karen Zumach, Community Forestry Manager

Tree Trust recruiting schools for Learning with Trees

Tree Trust is recruiting school partners for this spring’s Learning with Trees program. Learning with Trees helps schools around the state build  environmental science programs that involve the creation of outdoor learning areas on their grounds.

Tree Trust provides a combination of trees, shrubs, benches, and bird feeders that are placed on school grounds to fit the school's needs.The program is free of charge and culminates in an all-school planting day where every student plays a role in planting a tree.

 

Students at Hilltop Primary School on their planting day

Learning with Trees engages teachers, staff, parents and guardians, and volunteers to create Green Teams that develop a landscape plan that will meet the school's environmental and educational goals.
 

Prior to the school's planting day, Tree Trust brings the Our Town Trees Exhibit, developed in conjunction with the Minnesota Science Museum, to the school. The exhibit includes five interactive modules that teach students the importance of trees to the environment.

On the planting day, Tree Trust staff and volunteers lead groups of students through the entire process of planting a tree. The students are assigned various roles - digger, planter, mulcher, waterer - and trained volunteers and staff make sure they plant their trees properly. Every student gets to help plant.

Following the planting, schools receive a Tree Trunk, which is a duffel bag that includes 20 lessons for grades K-12, as well as outdoor activities and environmental education tools. The lessons cover a variety of subjects including forest management, science, math, social studies, and language arts.

If your school is interested in becoming a partner school, please visit the Learning with Trees program page for more information, or contact Karen Zumach at karenz@treetrust.org or 612-590-2536.

Trees planted in N. Mpls & around the metro

It has been a busy fall for Tree Trust's Community Forestry Department. On October 2nd and 3rd staff and 22 volunteers distributed 207 trees to homeowners in North Minneapolis who lost trees in the May 22, 2011 tornado. This distribution was a part of our North Minneapolis Reforest Project (NMRF), which was supported by grants from State Farm Insurance, the Xcel Energy Foundation, and an in-kind donation from Bachman's Nursery.

Tree varieties included Prairiefire Crabapple, Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry, Northern Hackberry, and Royal Star Magnolia.

Our Young Adult Conservation Corps program was also involved in the North Minneapolis Reforest Project. On October 11th they planted trees for individuals who participated in NMRF but were unable to plant their own trees.

On October 6th, Tree Trust's Community Forestry Manager, Karen Zumach, was awarded the President's Award from the Minnesota Society of Arboriculture (MSA) for her many contributions to community forestry in the Twin Cities. Tree Trust also received the Practitioner's Award of Excellence from MSA for its innovative planting projects with the City of St Louis Park.

Tree Trust had a Green Futures tree planting at Marsh Lake Park in Bloomington on October 8th. We had beautiful weather and were able to involve 33 volunteers in the planting of 44 trees. Varieties included Boulevard Linden, Valley Forge Elm, Swamp White Oak, Prairiefire Crabapple, Autumn Blaze Maple, and Quaking Aspen.

We have one more Green Futures planting this fall on Saturday, October 15th at Musser Park in Sunfish Lake. Sign up to volunteer here, or contact Felecia Schmidt at felecias@treetrust.org or 952-767-3884 for more information.

Tree Trust's last Community Forestry event of the fall will be a Learning with Trees planting on October 17th at Hilltop Primary School in Minnetrista. The Learning with Trees program helps schools around the state build outdoor learning areas on school grounds that include trees, shrubs, and benches. Groups of students are led by Tree Trust staff and volunteers, and every student has the opportunity to be involved in planting a tree.

For more information about our Community Forestry programs, contact Diana Preisen at dianap@treetrust.org or 612-590-1421.

Tree Trust's 2010 results

In 2010, we directly served 4,816 people through our programs. 67% of those served were under age 18, 56% were female, and 64% of participants in our employment training and case management programs represent ethnic minorities.

This past year we engaged 432 citizens who volunteered 1,454 hours with our Community Forestry program. These volunteers distributed 1,453 reduced-cost trees to homeowners, and planted 464 trees and 402 shrubs throughout the Twin Cities. An additional 21 ,volunteers provided 99 hours of administrative assistance.

Our Learning with Trees program involved 2,119 students in the creation of outdoor classrooms on the grounds of three Twin Cities elementary schools.

Our Community Support Program matched 816 parents with employment experiences at 169 host sites throughout the metro. 97% of participants who earned wages while participating reported they gained positive work experience and would recommend the program to others.

466 youth received individualized case management services and support through our Youth Development Services program; of these youth, 143 were also placed in internships. 82% of participants who exited the program in 2010 reported they have more confidence in their ability to find and keep a job as a result of being in the program.

Our summer Youth Conservation Corps program employed 889 youth who worked more than 90,000 hours and earned more than $700,000. 94% of participants who responded to surveys reported learning important skills that will help in future jobs.

87 youth completed community improvement projects while participating in our Young Adult Conservation Corps paid job training program. 92% who responded to exit surveys said their future employment opportunities were expanded; 84% said we helped them reach their employment goals.

Our YouthBuild program provided 37 young adults with paid job training and academic enrichment while they rehabbed three Minneapolis homes that will be sold to low-income first-time homebuyers. 100% of exited participants completed OSHA-10 safety training; 94% earned a high school diploma or GED, or returned to school to earn a diploma or GED.

Despite the struggling economy, Landscape Services, our earned-income venture, increased revenue from private sources significantly in 2010, proving to be a sustainable source of income to help to support our programs.

Local businesses help schools in 2010-2011

Generous grants from the Xcel Energy Foundation and Covanta Energy will allow two schools to participate in Tree Trust’s Learning with Trees program during the 2010-2011 school year.

This fall/winter Somerset Elementary School (Mendota Heights, MN) and Nellie Stone Johnson Community School (Minneapolis, MN) will work with Community Forestry Manager Karen Zumach to form green teams of teachers, parents and school administrators. Over the course of the next several months the green teams will identify ways to transform their existing grounds into living laboratories that provide hands-on learning experiences for their students, and also provide natural environmental benefits to the local community.

In the spring each school will participate in Tree Trust’s interactive Our Town Trees exhibit, where students will learn about the benefits of trees and build a conceptual framework for the students’ planting experience at all-school events that will occur near the end of the school year. During the events, Tree Trust’s trained volunteers will lead groups of students through the entire process of planting trees. The students will be assigned various roles - digger, planter, mulcher, waterer - and make each green teams’ landscape plans a reality.

Teachers from each school will also be provided with a “tree trunk” of lesson plans and tools to use with students to incorporate environmental education both inside the classroom and in their new outdoor learning area.

Thanks to our sponsors – Xcel Energy Foundation and Covanta Energy- for helping us bring Learning with Trees to two new schools!

Learning with Trees

Last Friday, more than 620 students helped to plant 25 trees and shrubs, plant 100 bulbs and beautify the gardens at Meadowbrook Elementary through the Learning with Trees program. CenterPoint Energy funded this planting and its employees took an active role helping Meadowbrook Elementary students improve their natural environment.

“We are proud of our long standing partnership with Tree Trust,” said Doug Peterson, director of marketing for CenterPoint Energy and Tree Trust board member. “We are pleased that Meadowbrook Elementary has a new and beautiful outdoor landscape for students and teachers to enjoy while improving our communities’ natural environment.”

Joelle, a member of the Green Team at Meadowbrook Elementary wrote:
“Tree Trust is such an impressive machine with this program -- what an opportunity to have every single kid in the school having a part in planting a tree.

I heard lots of wonderful comments from students (e.g. the 2nd grader who promised he'd take good care of "Hacky" -- what they named the hackberry tree they planted, the 3rd grader who talked about bringing his parents back to see his tree, etc.), the parents who couldn't believe all wonderful varieties that we planted today. We all learned lots from the knowledgeable Tree Trust staff and volunteers!"

 Thank you to the CenterPoint Energy and Tree Trust volunteers who helped make this happen!

Learning with Trees: Local businesses support environmental education

With the continued support of East Central Energy and CenterPoint Energy, and a new grant from Cargill Inc., Tree Trust has been able to bring our Learning with Trees program to three Minnesota schools during the 2009-2010 school year.

During the month of April, students in each of these schools will participate in the interactive Our Town Trees exhibit, an environmental learning opportunity that includes five modules such as "Trees Are Cool" and "Trees Clean Our Water," that teach the benefits of trees to build a conceptual framework for the students' hands-on planting experience that will occur later in the school year.

Green teams made up of teachers, principals, maintenance workers and parents from each school have been hard at work with our school coordinators to develop a new landscape plan for their schools' grounds. The goal for each school's green team:  to transform their playgrounds into living laboratories that provide continued opportunities for outdoor learning.

Celebrate Earth Day's birthday with trees for the Twin Cities

April 22, 2010 will be the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, started in 1970 by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as a grassroots movement to raise awareness about the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been working on separate environmental issues - from pollution and oil spills to the extinction of wildlife - came together around a common cause and began the modern environmental movement.

In celebration of Earth Day's birthday, we hope you'll come together around our common environmental cause: trees for the Twin Cities. Whether you volunteer, donate, or spread the word, your support makes our community that much greener.

Here's what we're doing to help the environment this spring, along with tips for how you can help.

Kids do some dirty work

The Mankato Free Press reports on an all-school planting day at Washington Elementary in May 2009.

Read the story.