Green New Year's Resolutions

Be green in the new year! Here are some ideas to add to your New Year's resolutions:

Plant a tree (or two, or three...). Join Tree Trust at one of our community forestry events in the spring! Or plant a tree in your own yard. Just be sure you know how to plant a tree the right way.

Shop locally at co-op groceries and farmers markets. Locally produced food requires much less time and energy to transport, so your food is fresher and your money isn't buying fuel for transcontinental shipping. Plus, your local choice supports growers in your own community. Find a farmers market near you.

Grow your own food. Even better than buying locally is connecting with your own food in your own backyard. Don't have a yard? Tomatoes, peppers, and herbs do well in pots on your patio. Don't have a patio? Seek out a community garden to connect with and learn from your green-thumbed neighbors.

Contribute to our Green Futures fund. Your donation will be doubled by a dollar-for-dollar match from a local foundation, and every $150 reached in the fund plants a six- to ten-foot tall tree in a Twin Cities park or recreation area. You can even help plant your tree! Learn more about Green Futures.

We wish you a very happy new year, and we hope you'll make 2010 great and green.

What you can do for the Twin Cities

In the Twin Cities, thousands of trees are lost each year to storms, pests, and disease. Thousands of young people face barriers to success in work and in life. And thousands of youth grow up without ever experiencing a connection with the natural world.

Luckily for the Twin Cities, people like you take action and work with Tree Trust to solve these problems. In the process, we enrich our own lives.

In the October issue of Community Ties, we asked you to tell us how getting involved with Tree Trust has impacted your life. Here are just a few of the great responses we received:

A Great Volunteer

Giampaolo Malin connected with Tree Trust in April this year, and since then he has volunteered more hours than any other individual in 2009. He has an inspiring commitment to the environment and to an overall ethic of civic responsibility, and we at Tree Trust are so grateful for his hard work and dedication.