Trees Forever, a Marion-based nonprofit environmental organization, completed tree planting projects in 112 communities across Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin in 2024, officials said this week.
The group organized thousands of volunteers and granted funding for environmental projects, while also partnering with municipalities to plant and care for public trees.
“The scale of our community reach in 2024 is notable thanks to a variety of factors, including a historic investment in forestry from Inflation Reduction Act funding and the leveraging of new and existing program partners to support projects,” said Michelle Beisker, CEO of Trees Forever.
Much of Trees Forever’s planting work aims to help communities recover from natural and man-made tree loss, such as from the invasive emerald ash borer or natural disasters.
The group promotes the planting of diverse, native trees and prairie to build a more resilient and beneficial local ecosystem.
The scope of Trees Forever’s work in communities also expanded this year. The group has offices in both the Cedar Rapids and Des Moines metro areas, and contracts to work alongside those cities with programming like Growing Futures, which employs area high schoolers in the work of planting and caring for urban trees while also developing professional skills and experience.
Those partnerships are now expanding into the surrounding communities.
“We had been watching the Growing Futures program for a few years and looking forward to the opportunity to partner here in Marion,” said Marion city forester Mike Cimprich. “The community reaction has been great. We had cars driving by honking in support and yelling positive encouragement about the tree plantings. People walking past complimented our efforts, and adjacent homeowners came out to watch the process and inquire as to the species of the tree being planted in front of their homes.”
Smaller towns and rural areas are also key to Trees Forever’s environmental mission. Along with providing funds and expertise for planting projects in these areas, Trees Forever offers programs like Community Visioning, which helps small Iowa towns to plan, design, and implement green infrastructure projects into trail and community transport upgrades.
“Alleman is a small town with big ambitions, and working with Trees Forever through the Community Visioning process really helped us prioritize projects to get implemented,” said Alleman city clerk Shari Buehler. “We have been busy implementing the plan for the last several years, and the projects we’ve accomplished are remarkable.”
Trees Forever provides education to the public on a variety of environmental topics through in-person field days, webinar series, and volunteer training. This includes the Trees Forever TreeKeeper program, a course designed for people to become more knowledgeable about tree planting and care and educates participants to become effective environmental volunteers and advocates. In 2024, the course was offered both in-person in select cities in Iowa and Illinois and also available through online sessions.
“It’s fantastic to see our volunteers getting trees planted,” said John Bright, Trees Forever Director of Marketing and Communications. “But we know it’s an even greater impact when we reach the public through our educational programming. Each person that learns about proper planting and tree care has the capacity to continue making a difference for years to come, wherever they live.”
Anyone looking to get involved with Trees Forever funding and educational programming can visit TreesForever.org.
