Brooklyn Center awards Tree Trust for Random Acts of Kindness

On October 26, 2009, Tree Trust received the City of Brooklyn Center's Random Acts of Kindness award. Tree Trust received the award in honor of the staff and Youth Conservation Corps participants who worked so hard to improve the city of Brooklyn Center.

This summer several Youth Conservation Corps crews completed landscape and construction projects at Earle Brown Terrace, Kylawn Park and Brooklyn Center City Hall, while others completed internships at the Brooklyn Center Historical Society, Brooklyn Center City Hall, Earl Brown Heritage Center and Centerbrook Golf Course.

The award was presented to Tree Trust by Tim Wilson, Mayor of Brooklyn Center, during the October City Council meeting. Accepting the award on behalf of Tree Trust were Paula Van Avery, Case Management Coordinator, and Gabrielle Saygbe, 2009 Youth Conservation Corps participant.

Learn more about our Youth Conservation Corps program.

Green Futures volunteers plant trees at Lake Elmo Park Reserve

On Saturday, October 3, 2009, Tree Trust gave 33 community volunteers the tools and training they needed to plant 100 trees at Lake Elmo Park Reserve.

In this video, the volunteers talk about why they came out to brave the muck and tell us a bit about how to plant a tree.

Learn more about Green Futures.

See our current volunteer opportunities.

Winterizing our community trees

We encourage you to invest in the health of your own trees by following a few simple winterizing tips and to invest in the health of our community forest by donating to Tree Trust.

Our community forestry manager, Karen Zumach, prescribes this treatment for the trees we plant and maintain along the Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority trail system (the Midtown Greenway and beyond) and suggests that you follow the same regimen in your own yard:

Trees aren’t a trend

There are over eight million hits on Google for the phrase “go green.” From the countless top-ten lists to the carbon footprint calculators to the articles on the dangers of nail polish, it’s safe to say that the world has green on the brain.

It seems like every company is trying to market its products as the latest and greatest green thing. Clearly, someone got the memo that green sells. But we at Tree Trust would like to reintroduce the ultimate green product, one that has been around since before the concept of going green was even a twinkle in someone’s eye. One that is not trendy, but timeless. Of course, it’s the mighty tree.

Building projects for a better outdoors

To find Tree Trust at work in your community, just step out of the house. Take a walk in the park to see a crew of eight youth constructing a much-needed staircase. Visit your local library to see one of our job trainees stocking shelves. Take a ride in Minneapolis to see a crew building a house for a low-income family.

Tree Trust’s employment training programs blend lives and landscapes together, and the concoction we create benefits the entire community in so many ways.

Young people overcome obstacles in their lives, experience success and develop pride in their abilities. Local businesses, nonprofits and community-serving agencies get to draw from an experienced workforce of young people who already know the basics, from the importance of getting to work on time to the value of a strong work ethic. And our parks and recreation areas get a facelift with real environmental benefits.