Neighborhood Forest: "I Love Trees!"

From 1997 to 2018, I lived in California. College, work, weather, relationships… all kept me living in California, despite the fact that I grew up in Duluth, Minnesota! Every year, I’d come home to Duluth to spend time with my family for a few weeks in the summer and winter holidays.

But every time I returned to my childhood home, it felt like something was missing. You know that feeling that you’ve forgotten something? That’s how I felt! I would walk around the house and yard, then explore the ever-evolving neighborhood near my childhood home, my favorite childhood exploration playground was a nearby forest, now mostly developed into housing… What is missing? 

It took a while to realize that what I was missing was my very own tree! One I could check in on every time I returned home. Growing with me, no matter where in the world I traveled. Why didn’t my parents plant a tree the year I was born? Or when I was a little girl, so every time I came home, I could check in on my tree’s growth?! Well, understandably, my parents were busy being parents of 4 kids! It’s a lot of work being a parent!! 

When I found out Neighborhood Forest gives away free trees to kids so they can plant and grow with their very own tree, I was elated! Ecstatic! Overjoyed that someone had the same idea that had given me this sense of longing and missing every time I returned home.

It takes about $5 to give a free tree to a child to plant. Trees are sent in April for kids to plant in the spring, between Earth Day & Arbor Day. 

I often get lost in the numbers of how many tons of CO2 and how much we breathe and use in fossil fuels. After doing some research, I came up with an easy way to remember each human’s carbon impact. SIX & SIX:

According to GlobeNewsWire, the global average of each human’s carbon emissions per year is 6 TONS of Carbon Dioxide. SIX. TONS.

Planting SIX trees per month (72/year) is enough to balance out that six tons per year. 

We must start somewhere. Start by donating and giving a free tree to a child to plant. You don’t even need to get your hands dirty! Though I also highly recommend planting as many native trees as often as you possibly can!

For one child to have the fabulous experience of planting and growing with a tree is just one $5 donation. That’s it! Just $5!

If you have the willingness and desire to help more, consider giving free trees to 20 kids ($100). 

If you want to fully off-set your entire carbon footprint this year, consider $360 = 72 kids get free trees!!

If you have already donated, THANK YOU SO MUCH! I am so grateful for your support of Neighborhood Forest and giving free trees to kids! Please share this with your friends, family, and on social media, to get the word out so we can all breathe better, ensure a more climate-safe future, and Neighborhood Forest can give more free trees to kids! 

Grow our children. 

By having them grow trees.

So they can reduce carbon and protect the earth for themselves and future generations.

Thank you! Big and small, we are grateful for all!!



More information about Neighborhood Forest:

Since 2010, Neighborhood Forest has given away over 50,000 trees to kids in 35 states, involving over 400 schools, libraries, youth groups, and over 100,000 families.  They are based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

www.neighborhoodforest.org