January 21, 2020
In 2020, we are celebrating three decades of Trees Forever—that’s more than 3,188,468 Trees and counting*! (*we’re tallying our final tree numbers from 2019, so this number will be updated in the coming month or so.)
As the ancient Greek proverb says “a society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit.” If you’re reading this, you already know the feeling of dirt on your hands after planting a tree, and perhaps, you’ve come back to visit trees planted many years ago. When you plant a tree, you are adding beauty, oxygen and habitat to the world; you are planting hope for the future.
Hopefully by now, people know that we do more than just plant trees. Our mission is to plant and care for trees and the environment by empowering people, building community and promoting stewardship.
Over the last 30 years, Trees Forever has:
- Sowed 58,709 lbs. of native seeds and planted 191,421 plants.
- Established 601 pollinator habitat and water quality sites throughout Iowa and Illinois.
- Engaged and educated an average of 8,383 volunteers every year.
Many of the first tree plantings from the 1990s are now beautiful groves or mature street trees. This year we will highlight the impact of 30 years. We want to go down memory lane, not just to be reminiscent, but to recognize how we can make even more of a difference over the next decades – with our wonderful volunteers and partners like you at our sides!
By our 50th anniversary, our goal is to plant 10 million trees. We hope every stream and river has a buffer of trees and native plants, and every roadside and trail has native plants. We have a lot of work to do, but it’s work worth doing.
Thanks for joining us to plant a better tomorrow.