They Plant Trees to Help Protect the Planet By Leslie VanSant
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ritten by Dr. Seuss in 1971, “The Lorax” is a cautionary fable about the destruction of the environment by industry, greed and consumption. The title character, the Lorax, speaks for the trees and encourages everyone to get involved with protecting the planet. “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” Enter We Plant Trees, a Northern Virginia nonprofit that cares a whole lot about the environment, trees and is doing something about it. Founded in 2019 by successful father and son Fredericksburg businessmen Doug and Erik Davis. They wanted to give something back and help the environment. They support it financially, and donations are always welcome.
Photo by Leslie VanSant
Father and daughter team John and Megan Eastman of The Plains with We Plant Trees saplings.
The name is the mission, the purpose and the action. It’s what they do. They plant trees. For free.
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Father and daughter team John and Megan Eastman of The Plains run the operation, and plant most of the trees. Since last year, We Plant Trees has planted more than 8,000 trees. That’s about 21 trees every day over the course of a year. They plant saplings of indigenous trees, no greater than 3 feet in height, tucked seamlessly into the local ecosystem. The trees are tubed for protection and early support, and watered. The different tree species planted include Eastern White Pine, Willow Oak, Sycamore, Red Maple, Tulip Poplar, Eastern Redbud, Flowering Dogwood, American Holly, and PawPaw. “We ensure biodiversity by planting 4-5 tree species at each planting location,” Megan said. “That way, if a disease or pest were to impact one species, the rest would remain healthy. For example, there is a blight (Chestnut blight) going around that only affects Chestnut Oaks. It’s a parasitic fungus that attacks the inner bark of the tree, eventually suffocating it to death. Don’t worry, we do not plant Chestnut Oaks.” Middleburg landowner Mary B. Schwab recently had the group at her farm after learning about them from the Goose Creek Association. “We’ve been inspired by friends and conservationists—the Broaddus family and Dave and Patricia Voss - who are planting millions of trees,” she said. “We wanted to do our part. Every tree counts!”
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The process is easy. Upon making a connection with a landowner, Megan and John visit the property and determine the best places to plant trees to ensure survival. The location is bush-hogged if needed. “We try to work with landowners to place trees where they would like them, but we are not a landscaping company,” said John. “We also want to make sure that the trees are where they can be accessed safely to water them for the first year.” The planting day is selected, trees ordered and then planted, at no cost to the landowner. The trees and service are free and landowners are simply asked to water them in the first year. The planting season runs from October through spring, with a break when the ground freezes tight. At most locations, they plant at least 100 trees. They love having volunteers and the opportunity is COVID safe and socially distant. “Anyone who knows how to use a shovel and carry a water bucket can help plant a tree,” Megan said. To learn more about We Plant Trees, contact Megan by email at megan@weplanttrees.org.
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