CANOPY CONNECTIONS
Fall 2024
Shaping Our Parks - Shaping Our Future
Rain didn’t dampen the spirits at Tree Trust’s recent summer celebration, a tradition at the conclusion of our Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP). Youth participants displayed the resilience acquired from working outside in all kinds of weather, ranging from hot sun to rain, and deep in wooded areas often swarming with buzzing insects. Proudly wearing their new Tree Trust branded bucket hats, participants happily posed for photos with their crews, as the young people and their families –along with Tree Trust staff, project partners, and funders –gathered to champion a job well done. Youth move forward with new skills and confidence, knowing they can complete tasks and meet challenges. The projects completed by our summer crews will beautify our communities for years to come.
Tree Trust’s Summer Youth Employment Program is thriving, thanks to the generosity of donors like you. Follow along to learn more about some of this year’s work sites and the impact these projects have on their communities.
Northland Park – Baseball Dugouts
Our Stillwater SYEP crew constructed two baseball dugouts at Northland Park. From laying the concrete base to constructing the benches and structures, this crew really knocked it out of the park. Crew member Jameson garnered the mental fortitude to complete challenging tasks. “I’ve learned to be more independent, and I’ve learned to be more helpful. I have a lot of stamina now and Tree Trust has taught me a lot about landscaping and using equipment.”
This project was designed by Tree Trust’s Landscape Management Technician, Ames Wyeth. It was important to match the look and feel of current baseball dugouts in Stillwater, so Ames visited a local baseball field and created a blueprint of the dugout, board for board. Continued on next page.
SYEP participants celebrate their summer success.
South Valley Park – Archery Targets
South Valley Park in Inver Grove Heights has a brand new, 12-target archery course. Our SYEP crew constructed and painted each wooden target. This new archery course offers an exciting opportunity for people to enjoy the outdoors and practice their skills. It is the only public course of this size in the Twin Cities metro area. In addition to construction, youth removed invasive species, like burdock, from the landscape.
In Minnesota, archery is growing in popularity, especially among young people. Archery is often a winter sport, providing a chance to get outside and be active in the colder months. In a recent Pioneer Press article, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ (DNR) Shooting Sports Coordinator and Grand Rapids Archery Team Coordinator stated, “It’s phenomenal how archery has taken off, how many kids are interested when you give them the chance. Just when I think we’ve reached a plateau, [in 2023] we added 20 new teams in Minnesota.” The DNR shared the results of their push to incorporate archery into school curriculums on a national level through their Archery in Schools Program. Originating in 2002, this program has introduced the sport to 18 million students, two-thirds of whom had never held a bow before.
Caponi Art Park - Labyrinth
In the heart of Eagan lies the secluded beauty of Caponi Art Park. Following the moss-covered rock wall trail to the park’s center, you’ll discover a captivating labyrinth. SYEP participants restored this beloved art installation, brick by brick. Young people practiced landscape construction skills while also removing invasive species like buckthorn from the area. Caponi Art Park Executive Director and co-founder Cheryl Caponi was excited to partner with Tree Trust. She stated, “I think it’s just wonderful what they’re doing in here. They’re doing a great job. And it’s going to be so much better to have more permanent material for people to walk on.”
The labyrinth was a project Cheryl created as a space for patrons to visit and enjoy a little bit of calm. When the labyrinth was constructed in 2012, pink marble bricks were placed in a spiral amidst a bed of soft green moss. Cheryl loved the contrast of color. However, after years of visitors walking along the labyrinth, the moss disappeared, and weeds began to make the spiral unstable. Cheryl was excited to connect with Tree Trust through a referral from the City of Eagan to restore this beloved space.
SYEP participant constructs archery targets.
SYEP participants repair labyrinth.
174 Participants
Swede Hollow Park – Daylighting History
Through the generous support of the McNeely Foundation, Tree Trust continued work improving Swede Hollow Park in Saint Paul, daylighting history along the way. This year’s participants removed invasive species like burdock and buckthorn along Phalen Creek and in upper Swede Hollow Park. Previous projects have included a timber staircase leading down to Phalen Creek and revitalizing the walking trail along the creek. With each successful project, Tree Trust youth are daylighting important history buried beneath the weeds.
4,000 ft of Boardwalk Repaired
8,723 Bug Bites
12 Archery Targets Constructed
Until 1820, Phalen Creek was a Dakota settlement, providing fresh water and transportation to the confluence of the creek and the Mississippi River. This junction is a sacred Dakota cultural site known as “Bdote.” Later, the railroad arrived at Swede Hollow Park, bringing a new wave of settlers who lived along Phalen Creek in makeshift homes until 1956, when the City of Saint Paul condemned the structures for public safety concerns. Tree Trust’s work in Swede Hollow Park has made it easier for community members to visit this historical space and explore its impact on Saint Paul’s history. Tree Trust’s youth participants are ambassadors of our mission to transform lives and landscapes. Youth working in Swede Hollow Park are playing a vital role in reconnecting the Dayton’s Bluff community with neighborhood history.
Karen Reynolds, from the McNeely Foundation, shared her impressions from a site visit. “I’ve met several Tree Trust crews working in Swede Hollow Park and have been impressed not only with the skills learned on the job, but the obvious pride in their work. It is so wonderful to see how pleased they are to work with a team of new people and be able to tell family and friends about it and show them. Tree Trust is an asset to the Twin Cities area by providing opportunities for career exploration as well as providing services that homeowners and cities need. The McNeely Foundation is very pleased to be a long-time supporter of Tree Trust and appreciates the good work of the organization.”
3,042 Screws HandAugered 76 Timber Steps Built
Building Confidence, One Project at a Time
Tree Trust is grateful to everyone who helped make our 2024 Summer Youth Employment Program a success! At the celebration, keynote speaker Tim Johnstad, an IEP Motivational Speaker and HR, DEI & Talent Acquisition Professional, encouraged young people to push past challenges to achieve success. Tim, like many of our youth participants, had an Individualized Education Plan or IEP in school. He worked hard to become a leader in his field. Tim stated, “Everyone here received a certificate of completion. While we often get trophies, awards, and certificates, this one stands out. Let it be a reminder of your capabilities—the hard work you’ve put in and your ability to overcome challenges. When you face difficulties, remember you can do this.”
Talking Trees With Peggy
Tree Trust donor and Landscape Services customer Peggy Booth knows a thing or two about trees. She has been instrumental in diversifying Minnesota’s tree canopy. In a state with an affinity for the silver maple, Peggy enjoys the shade of her majestic swamp white oak. While the oak tree may be the centerpiece of Peggy’s personal canopy, her yard boasts a stunning variety of trees, including a white cedar, a Kentucky coffee tree, a catalpa, and a well-established hackberry slowly twisting towards the sun. Peggy purchased her oak tree from Tree Trust in 1995 through a partnership with the University of Minnesota that subsidized the cost of trees to make them affordable to residents.
The Trouble with Monoculture
Monoculture is easy to see, and it’s no fault of the silver maple—a tree very popular for boulevards due to its quick growth. For years, Minnesota city planners opted to plant one variety of tree per neighborhood, mainly for aesthetics and ease of pruning. In the wake of the Dutch elm disease epidemic spanning the 1960s and 1970s, Peggy saw firsthand the devasting effects of monoculture and got to work promoting tree diversity. Peggy shared, “In the mid-1970s, I did the first boulevard reforestation plan for the City of Minneapolis.” Her work as a city planner led her to question the policy of monoculture and push for greater tree diversity. While mapping out a plan for the Whittier neighborhood, she discovered it would be 60% linden trees. Peggy took her concerns to the Minneapolis Park Board.
“Tree Trust has such a great reputation with our community members and other cities across the metro. We are so grateful to be partnering with them and couldn’t do this much to increase tree canopy on private property in Minneapolis without them!” - Sydney Schaaf, City Trees Program Coordinator at the City of Minneapolis Health Department
Tree Trust Landscape Services
Shaping Public Policy
According to Peggy, “The Minneapolis City Council wanted to have more tree protection policies, but trees are really the jurisdiction of Park Board.” Tree protection policies, including the incorporation of diverse planting initiatives, are critical in stewarding a robust tree canopy. Peggy continued, “The Park Board and the City Council agreed to create a Tree Advisory Committee. I was one of the founding members.” The Minnesota Shade Tree Advisory Committee (MNSTAC) was founded in 1974. The group was first comprised of Peggy, Don Willeke (one of Tree Trust’s founders), and other citizens and tree care professionals. Peggy filled various roles in the organization including co-chair until her retirement two years ago. MNSTAC continues to advise government agencies on how to preserve, protect, and expand Minnesota’s forests. Today, Tree Trust’s Director of Community Forestry, Karen Zumach, serves as MNSTAC president.
Growing a Diverse Canopy
Peggy’s personal treescape is a microcosm of diversity, reflecting the wide variety of disease-resistant trees available through our tree sales. In 2006, Tree Trust first partnered with the City of Minneapolis to offer 1,500 affordable trees to residents to plant in their yards. This year we sold over 3,100 discounted trees to Minneapolis homeowners. Since 2006, Tree Trust has increased our tree distributions to include 13 additional cities.
Transforming Landscapes
This year, when Peggy decided to transform her yard, she reached out to Tree Trust Landscape Services. It was important to Peggy to incorporate her trees into the overall design when considering construction. Our Landscape Services team couldn’t agree more and worked with Peggy to design and install accessible wooden boardwalks through her beautiful shade gardens, linking the city sidewalk to the front stoop and side deck and wrapping around to the garage in the back. Peggy loved the “thoughtful and well-structured design” that “nestled in the landscape, trees, and plantings seamlessly.” Tree Trust Landscape Services was happy to add increased accessibility to Peggy’s stunning outdoor space.
Planting for the Future
Looking at Peggy’s mature oak tree, it’s hard to imagine that she purchased it in a five-gallon pot. Her oak tree is a perfect example of how just one tree can make a real difference. Imagine if we all planted just one tree. Tree Trust is grateful for Peggy’s work in the community supporting—as she likes to call it—“tree stuff.” works on Peggy’s construction project.
Trees Are Community
Just like us, trees are rooted in the community, forming intricate networks that connect them in ways we are only beginning to understand. Through vast underground root systems, trees share resources, communicate, and even warn one another of incoming pests, all thanks to a unique partnership with fungi growing on their root tips. This “mycorrhizal network,” as scientists call it, is like a tree’s social network. A recent article by Smithsonian Magazine, “Do Trees Talk to Each Other,” explores this fascinating phenomenon, revealing that trees send chemical, hormonal, and slow-pulsing electrical signals through this network—signs of a hidden world of communication right beneath our feet.
In the same way that trees support each other, community planting events bring people together to grow a stronger, more connected community. These events allow neighbors, friends, and volunteers to work sideby side to replace trees lost to emerald ash borer (EAB) and enhance each neighborhood’s natural landscape. Tree Trust is deeply committed to revitalizing areas devastated by EAB, an invasive pest that has killed countless ash trees across our communities.
Growing the Roots of Community
During the fall planting season, we joined forces with the cities of St. Louis Park and South St. Paul to plant diverse trees in city boulevards, restoring tree canopy in areas hit hardest by EAB. We also collaborated with a South Minneapolis community group, 36th ART, to plant trees on private property. Planting a tree is more than an added aesthetic; it’s an investment in future resilience, cleaner air, and a community that stands together, grounded in a shared commitment to growth and sustainability.
Planting in the Park
St. Louis Park is a city that loves their trees. Kicking off our fall planting season with our longtime partners was a joyful gathering of what we like to call “tree people.” From collaboration on tree sales to offering full-service tree planting, Tree Trust has worked with St. Louis Park for as long as we can remember. Volunteers assembled at a local park for a tree-planting demonstration, then eagerly divided into small teams, tools in hand, ready to plant boulevard trees. The sidewalks were abuzz with energy as volunteers applied their new skills and connected through their commitment to stewardship. Families out for a morning stroll were quick to thank our volunteers and ask to learn more about the new trees in their neighborhood. Our planting volunteers were excited to share their new tree planting skills with friends and family. Knowing how to plant a tree the Tree Trust way is truly a gift that keeps on giving.
St. Louis Park planting volunteers standing next to a newly planted tree.
Going Green in South St. Paul
South St. Paul lost a third of its city trees to EAB, revealing the need for a modern approach to urban forestry. Originally crafted in 1969 to address Dutch elm disease, the city’s tree ordinance only allowed ash and maple trees to be planted on boulevards. In 2023, South St. Paul worked to update their planting regulations to support a more diverse and resilient urban canopy. Excited to put this new policy into action, the city partnered with Tree Trust earlier this year to plant a variety of new tree species. Even the mayor joined in, eager to see the city’s streets lined with a healthier, more adaptable tree population.
This fall, we returned to South St. Paul, where volunteers came together to replant a canopy still feeling the impact of EAB. Thanks to the dedication of our volunteers and the support of local leadership, many of the city’s boulevards are now home to young, thriving trees that will benefit the community for years to come.
The Social Impact of Urban Trees
Thanks to the generous support of Takeda Pharmaceutical, we coordinated the planting of FREE trees in the Seward and Longfellow neighborhoods of South Minneapolis. Community group 36th ART (Avenue Revitalization & Transformation), which includes residents of the Longfellow and Seward neighborhoods in South Minneapolis, helped coordiante these residential plantings. Terry Barnes serves on the board of directors for the Seward Community Group and worked to establish the 36th ART initiative to revitalize her community. Terry explains, “Trees do a lot for us. They clean the air and provide a sense of peace and connection to where we live.”
United around a vision for a more vibrant, walkable community with public art and trees, 36th ART connected with Tree Trust in early 2024. Working together, we determined the best tree to meet each resident’s needs and where to plant it. Thanks to the generous support of Takeda, which subsidized the cost of new trees and even helped plant them, we worked to green the community. Terry is excited to see her community members connect to grow their treescape. The new trees make her streets feel more welcoming. “You just want to walk and spend time in your own community rather than go somewhere else.”
Tree Trust’s vision of a thriving workforce living on a healthy planet is made possible by people uniting in environmental stewardship. By caring for one another and the trees in our community, we are growing the legacy of a greener tomorrow.
From left, Jimmy Francis, Mayor of South St. Paul; State Representative Rick Hansen; State Representative Sonya Harper; Shannon Lotthammer, DNR Assistant Commissioner; and Jared Smith, Executive Director & CEO at Tree Trust
36th ART Community plants trees together.
