Green Futures for Cherokee Park!

50 volunteers got together on Saturday, June 5, 2010 at St. Paul's Cherokee Park to plant 60 trees as part of Tree Trust's Green Futures initiative.

A little light drizzle didn't spoil a thing: families, couples, and individuals worked together to get trees in the ground the right way. These new trees are off to a great start, ready to take the place of the mighty ash trees when they succumb to emerald ash borer.

This event was especially meaningful for Tree Trust because all the trees were planted in memory of our CEO, David Hawes, who passed away in February after a battle with cancer. Dave's family joined other volunteers to plant in honor of his lifelong love of trees and commitment to transforming lives and landscapes during his 30+ years at Tree Trust.

Thanks so much to:

• The volunteers and donors who made this event possible
• Our trusty trainers for teaching everyone how to plant correctly
• The City of St. Paul for applying for a Green Futures grant and working to get more trees in the parks
• Amore Coffee for donating the coffee 
• Mississippi Market for donating a gift card to buy snacks for our volunteers
• Our Landscape Services team for providing event support
• Our Community Forestry Manager, Karen Zumach, for creating the landscape plan and facilitating the event

This is the last Green Futures planting for the spring, but we're currently accepting donations for plantings in the fall. If someone has a birthday coming up, a new baby is coming into the world, a friend is getting married or having an anniversary, or someone close to you just really loves trees, think about making a donation in their honor!

Check out more photos from the event in this Flickr set.