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.

[Photo by Satoru Kikuchi under Creative Commons license.]


Minneapolis City Trees
In partnership with the City of Minneapolis for the fifth year in a row, we're offering 1,250 trees to Minneapolis residents at a low cost to help green the City.

How you can help:

1. If you're a Minneapolis resident with a spot for a tree in your yard, buy one!
2. Volunteer to load trees and mulch into vehicles and pass out information about how to properly plant and care for trees. Pick-up happens Saturday, May 8 (7:00 AM - 3:00 PM), Sunday, May 9 (8:00 AM - 12:00 PM), and Monday, May 10 (3:00 PM - 7:00 PM) at the Minneapolis Impound Lot (51 Colfax Ave. N.). Just respond to this email to register.

St. Louis Park Tree Sale
In partnership with the City of St. Louis Park for the second year in a row, we're offering 200 trees to SLP residents at a low cost.

How you can help:

1. If you're a St. Louis Park resident with a spot for a tree in your yard, buy one. There are only three trees left (all Quaking Aspens), so act fast!
2. (We'd ask you to volunteer, but we already have enough people signed up for this.)

Green Futures Plantings
Here's how Green Futures works:

1. You make a donation of any amount.
2. Your gift is doubled by a dollar-for-dollar match from a local foundation.
3. Every $150 reached in the fund plants a tree in the Twin Cities.
4. You can help plant these trees in a local park or recreation area.

Pretty nifty, right? We have two Green Futures plantings coming up this spring: 120 trees at Lisle Park in Minnetrista on Saturday, May 22 and 60 trees at Cherokee Park in St. Paul on Saturday, June 5.

How you can help:

1. Make a donation to help us plant more trees (just select "Green Futures initiative" as the program designation).  
2. Volunteer to plant at Lisle Park or Cherokee Park. Just respond to this email to register. 

Learning with Trees

Our Learning with Trees program helps schools throughout the state create sustainable environmental science programs that include outdoor learning areas on their grounds. The program culminates in an all-school planting day, when every student plays a role - digger, planter, mulcher, or waterer - in planting a tree. 

For the 2009-2010 school year, we're bringing Learning with Trees to three elementary schools with the help of our sponsors:

• Meadowbrook Elementary in Golden Valley, thanks to CenterPoint Energy
• Trailview Elementary in Mora, thanks to East Central Energy
• Fernbrook Elementary in Maple Grove, thanks to Cargill

How you can help: Make a donation to support our Learning with Trees program.