Plant a Tree Day 2021:

COMMUNITY REFORESTATION FOR GLOBAL IMPACT: PLANT A TREE DAY 2021

Our fourth annual Plant a Tree Day falls on Tuesday, September 28th, but planting will take place through 60 events spread out over 1 month. In fact, several events have already happened and we just couldn't wait to share everything our partners and volunteers have accomplished so far!

2021 plant a tree day highlights

From Uganda to Tennessee, Poland to Florida, in community parks and watersheds big and small, everyday people just like you are coming together to improve their local environments. Any time we get local communities together to plant trees, it's bound to be memorable, but each year we're inspired anew. From the dedication showed by our partners and volunteers to the scale of what we're able to accomplish together and the spirit of camaraderie that, without fail, imbues each event, Plant a Tree Day is a reaffirmation of why we do what we do. 

Mpanga Forest Reserve

54 volunteers (40 adults and 14 youth) worked together to plant 2,500 native trees across two degraded sites in Uganda's Mpanga Forest Reserve (located in the Mpigi district south of Kampala). The trees planted will help control soil erosion, increase the area bird population,improve water quality within a nearby wetland, and more! The local community will benefit from improved access to clean water, and local nurseries were supported and encouraged by the project.

This event was particularly special as it brought together different youth led organizations and social enterprises, all of whom are passionate about environmental conservation. They were joined by the director of the Uganda branch of the Jane Goodall Institute, who inspired the volunteers to maintain their spirit of environmentalism.

Kaley Square Park

20 volunteers (15 adults and 5 youth) worked together to plant 15 native, 30-gallon oak trees at Kaley Square Park, a popular community park in a low-income area of Orlando, FL. In addition to planting the trees, the volunteers worked in an on-site pollinator garden, planting pollinator-friendly flowers, weeding, and distributing seed bombs loaded with native seeds.

These native oak trees will sequester carbon, increase the shade cover of the park, decrease the community impact of rising global temperatures, and more. The pollinator garden will improve the park's pollinator insect populations and therefore increase the biodiversity and ecological health of the overall space. 

Grassy Branch Creek

In Spring Hill, Tennessee, 3 volunteers came together to plant 200 bare-root seedlings along Tennessee's Grass Branch Creek in an effort to expand and enhance the riparian zone. Healthy riparian zones play an instrumental role in watershed health byreducing the amount of sediment and nutrient pollution entering creeks through stormwater runoff, controlling the rate of erosion, decreasing flood velocity downstream, creating habitat for biodiversity, and more! 

Smith Blackburn Homestead

In Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 13 volunteers planted 110 native trees and shrubs as part of an ongoing native pollinator garden project. The purpose of the planting was to restore native wildlife habitat that has been overtaken by invasive species. The species planted will provide habitat and an early spring food source for local wildlife, sequester carbonover time, and more! 

In addition to providing an opportunity for visitors to experience nature, our partners installed educational signage outlining the importance of pollinators, what people can do to help them, and elements of a good native pollinator garden. This makes for a rich, interactive educational resource for the local community. 

Stay tuned over the next month for more Plant a Tree Day 2021 highlights! And as always, thank you to our amazing partners on the ground who make these events happen, and to the inspiring volunteers who roll up their sleeves and get to work in communities big and small across the globe. 

Missed an event sign up? Don't worry, we'll do it again next year. And in the meantime, you can still help us get trees in the ground 🌿