Canopy Connections - Winter 2024

Rooted in Impact

CANOPY CONNECTIONS

Winter 2024

By Jared Smith, Executive Director & CEO

Thank you for supporting Tree Trust! Your generosity ensures more young people can participate in Tree Trust workforce development programs where they can safely venture out of their comfort zones and steward the environment, all while building important career skills.

We featured Branches participant Melanie in our 2023 Year-End Campaign. After completing our advanced tree care training program, she joined Davey Tree Expert Company and is training to be a climbing arborist while earning a full-time wage. The world of tree care is transforming as aspiring women arborists gear up and ascend to towering heights. Historically a predominantly male field, arboriculture is now welcoming a new generation of female workers. The allure of an outdoor office, competitive salaries, and the opportunity for meaningful work inspires women like Melanie to explore arboriculture as a career.

As we begin 2024, we are excited for continued organizational growth. Interest in our Career Pathways programs is increasing and we are growing to meet the demand. We anticipate serving at least 400 young people this year. We are thrilled to report that our January Branches cohort is already full, and the March cohort is filling rapidly. The 2023-24 Tree Trust YouthBuild program is in full swing. Registrations will open soon for the 2024 Summer Youth Employment Program, our longest-running initiative.

Our Community Forestry department is also deep in planning for spring tree planting and distribution events, with a goal of planting at least 10,500 trees this year. Numerous new and existing partners are eager to join us in planting trees where they are needed most as soon as the ground thaws.

Your investment in Tree Trust makes all this possible. Thank you for being with us as we look forward to transforming more lives and landscapes this year.

Branches graduate Melanie works aloft.

Growing a Green Legacy

In the heart of Saint Paul, a wave of positive change is underway as passionate young people transform their urban treescape. In a three-year partnership with Saint Paul Parks and Recreation, Tree Trust is training young people to plant and care for more than 3,000 trees while reforesting areas of the city devastated by emerald ash borer. “Partnering with Tree Trust to provide Saint Paul youth with environmental job opportunities nurtures a sense of community that will grow as our trees do,” said Saint Paul Parks and Recreation Director Andy Rodriguez. “Strengthening our urban canopy through tree planting not only provides shade and beauty but also serves as a powerful investment in the health of our cities, improving air quality, reducing heat, and fostering wildlife diversity.”

Emerald Ash Borer Is Devastating Our Urban Canopy

Tree Trust is working with communities across the Twin Cities metro to manage the devastating impact of the loss of trees due to emerald ash borer (EAB). According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota has one billion ash trees, giving our state the highest number of ash trees in North America. Twenty to forty percent of Minnesota’s urban tree canopies (and in some communities, up to 60%) are comprised of ash tree species. You may remember the widespread loss of trees due to Dutch elm disease decades ago – a crisis that led to Tree Trust’s founding. Today, the expeditious tree assassin emerald ash borer is proving just as problematic to our tree canopy. As we have done for many years, Tree Trust is working to help communities transition to a more diverse and resilient urban forest.

Greening Saint Paul in October 2023

Saint Paul’s Payne-Phalen and Capitol Hill neighborhoods are among the communities devastated by EAB. Large swaths of city-owned boulevards lack trees due to the invasive pest. This absence of tree canopy creates urban heat islands (the retention of heat in the built environment) and results in higher energy costs, increased air pollution, and increased heat-related illness. During their fall school break (frequently called MEA), 25 students from Johnson Senior High School, Highland Park Senior High School, and Community of Peace Academy planted 206 trees to help restore the tree canopy in these neighborhoods.

I’m taking the opportunity to give back to the community. It’s going to teach people that everyone can plant trees to help the community grow. - Alex P., Saint Paul Community of Peace Academy Student

The planting project is part of Tree Trust’s more extensive paid workforce training programs introducing participants to green industry careers. The students applied for and completed the employment interview process and participated in a four week employment training program that included resume preparation, requesting references, and timecard documentation, in addition to the planting work. Students also had the opportunity to earn the Minnesota Certified

Branches trainer Max and participant James plant trees in Saint Paul.

Tree Inspector Certification, an industry-recognized credential administered through the University of Minnesota.

Saint Paul Councilmember Jane Prince encouraged the students before they got to work. “For the rest of your life, you will be able to drive by [this area] and see what you have done today. These trees are going to last for decades and that will be one of your first legacies as you add to our urban forest.”

Empowered by the enthusiastic backing of Saint Paul leaders, students eagerly delved into learning the art and science of planting trees the Tree Trust way. Guided by experts from Tree Trust’s Career Pathways, Community Forestry, and Landscape Services teams, they transformed their city boulevards with healthy trees from a diversity of species. These trees will reduce the impact of urban heat islands in Saint Paul neighborhoods by shading homes, reducing energy demand, and providing “air conditioning” through evapotranspiration. With the addition of trees, residents will breathe easier and enjoy the numerous health benefits of growing shade in their community.

Tree Trust Partnerships

The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit. – Nelson Henderson

The Saint Paul planting event is just one example of how Tree Trust partners with communities throughout the Twin Cities each year to address the destruction of EAB. Working in conjunction with city foresters and with the assistance of corporate and community volunteers, we plant trees in parks, schools, and on city boulevards. We also partner with cities and private sponsors to increase the tree canopy on private property through innovative, no-cost, and low-cost tree distribution events so everyone can experience the benefits of trees and enjoy the benefits of a greener future.

Career Pathways Director Cindy Booker (left), Saint Paul students, and Community Outreach Coordinator Joan Frentz (right).

Scan QR Code to hear Tree Trust on the news!

JOIN US AT A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT EVENT

You may not be able to plant trees this winter, but you can still learn about them! Join us for an upcoming event. Scan the QR code or visit treetrust.org/events to learn more and register.

MIA Art Walk: Why Art Needs Trees (And Trees Need Art)

Saturday, January 27, 1-2 pm at Minneapolis Institute of Art

Join us for an exciting event at the MIA! Explore the fascinating relationship between art and trees on this walking tour of the public galleries.

Fruit Tree Pruning Workshop

Saturday, February 24, 2-3 pm at Folwell Park in Minneapolis

This introductory pruning workshop is for beginners who would like to learn how to effectively manage their trees for maximum health and output.

Book Club: The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben

March Date/Time/Location TBD

Participate in a lively discussion about The Hidden Life of Trees by German forester Peter Wohlleben. With certified arborists on hand to answer questions, we will dive into the ever-expanding science of tree communication and social networks.

YOU, TOO, CAN LEAVE A LEGACY!

Like the young people who planted trees in Saint Paul, you can also leave a legacy.

Legacy donors, whom we call Trees of Tomorrow Trustees, help lay the foundation for our future, casting a vision of a thriving workforce living on a healthy planet. When you make a legacy gift to Tree Trust, you don’t just invest in our essential mission; you invest in our community – its people and natural beauty.

Legacy gifts come in all shapes and sizes but don’t have to be complicated. One of the easiest ways to make a legacy gift is to name Tree Trust as a beneficiary in your will or trust, either by leaving a fixed dollar amount or a percentage of your estate. Or you can make a Qualified Charitable Distribution from a retirement account.

Learn more by visiting treetrust.org/trees-oftomorrow or emailing Anne-Marie.Hendrickson@treetrust.org.