Levi Tracey (4th grade) and Elizabeth Sayler (3rd grade) are two students at Avon Montessori Academy in Avon, Ohio. Together they worked to plan and execute a bake sale raising over $700 dollars to donate to Neighborhood Forest! Julie Felder, Head of the School, interviewed these two students about their wonderful efforts. See their responses below!
WHY DID YOU WANT TO DO A FUNDRAISER FOR NEIGHBORHOOD FOREST?
Levi: It wasn’t always going to be for Neighborhood Forest. At first it was to buy trees and plant them. I found out about Neighborhood Forest through our local library and we did research about them and went on their website. We liked the organization and they have a good mission to get children trees.
Elizabeth: Because we were driving on a field trip and I was sitting with Levi. We saw a lot of garbage outside. And we thought it would be good to do a fundraiser to save the earth because there is a lot of litter and garbage outside.
WHY ARE TREES/THE ENVIRONMENT IMPORTANT TO YOU?
Levi: I like nature, it’s fun to be outside. And I want it to last longer.
Elizabeth: So that we can enjoy being outside instead of being inside. Climbing trees and being outside on nice days is so fun.
WHAT MAKES YOU MOST PROUD OF YOUR FUNDRAISING EFFORTS?
Levi: That we were able to get 150 trees to people through the organization. That’s a lot of trees for a lot of kids – it’s gonna be a lot of trees!
Elizabeth: That we raised a lot of money and a lot of people have supported us.
ANYTHING ELSE TO ADD?
Elizabeth: Thank you to everyone who supported us.
Thanks to Levi and Elizabeth’s generosity and hard work, Avon Montessori Academy will be receiving 100 White Pine Trees for all of their students to plant for Earth Week 2023! The rest of their donation will be used to provide more children trees in our program. We are so deeply touched and moved by this unexpected act of love, generosity, and service by these two young changemakers.
“The mission of Avon Montessori Academy is to cultivate and inspire each individual within the school community to excel as lifetime scholars, creative thinkers, and responsible citizens. Members of our school community act with respect, compassion, integrity, and heart. Weaving the Montessori philosophy with a warm and charming environment, we place emphasis on whole child development, peace education, and care of the Earth.”
This year, Neighborhood Forest introduced April 26th as Neighborhood Forest Day – A Festival of (Free) Trees celebrating kids, trees, and the planet.
Neighborhood Forest Day falls in the heart of Earth Week (April 22-30) – four days after Earth Day (April 22) and a few days before Arbor Day (which is observed on the last Friday in April).
Neighborhood Forest Day is a day of celebration – recognizing the goodness and generosity of humanity – a celebration of abundance, unity, connection, and joy.
Trees have a way of bringing people together. Neighborhood Forest is serving people in red states and blue states, rural and urban settings, and people from every race, religion, age group, and socio-economic demographic represented in our country.
We don’t discriminate on any basis. Just as the tree provides shade to all who seek it, Neighborhood Forest provides free trees to all children.
This Earth Week, Neighborhood Forest gave 40,000 kids in 48 states (including Canada) their very own tree to plant. Since 2010, we have reached over 250,000 families, over 900 institutions, and given over 90,000 kids their very own tree to plant!
Our goal is to reach every child in North America and eventually the world.
Dear Parents, Grand Parents, Guardians, Volunteers, Coordinators, Families, and Children,
Your trees are coming soon!
You are one of 30,000+ individuals that will be planting a tree during Earth Week (April 22-30). Most of you will be planting this tree with your child(ren) and / or family and friends.
Together, with your help and efforts, 40,000 trees will be planted in 48 states (including Canada) in just a couple of weeks!
You are part of one of the largest coordinated, volunteer, urban / residential tree planting projects – involving children – in North America!
We are thrilled that you are participating!
This email contains important information about your trees, including
1) Arrival information – trees will be available to you sometime during Earth Week (April 22-30). The Neighborhood Forest Coordinator at your school, library, youth group, or organization will be in touch with you about pick-up / send-home details as we get closer to Earth Day (April 22). If you do not hear from them or do not receive your trees by April 28th, please contact them and / or us to ensure that you receive your tree(s).
2) Species details – check out the 9 beautiful species we are shipping to different states and provinces across the continent! We aim to provide native trees in all the regions we serve.
4) STEAM Curriculum – NuMinds has also created this wonderful 6-lesson “Science of Trees” curriculum (Grades K through 6+) to augment and enrich the tree planting and learning experience. Each purchase of the curriculum will fund 4 free trees for children next year!
5) The Neighborhood Forest Board Game – the geniuses at NuMinds have also created this amazing, new, original Neighborhood Forest Board Game! Fun for the whole family and / or classroom. This game takes participants on a journey of planting and growing their own Neighborhood Forest. With each purchase of the board game, you get the “Science of Trees” curriculum and 8 kids get free trees next year!
6) Share a picture on our Facebook page! Want to thank us? Please share photos of your kids with their trees – we love seeing and sharing the photos, which will eventually add to our growing library of “then and nows“. Thank you!
We are giving away 9 different species of trees in 48 states (including Canada) this year:
1) Keep your tree in a cool, dark place (refrigerated for those in northern states) until you plant it
2) Protect your newly planted tree from wildlife and lawnmowers with a little fence and netting
3) Put some mulch around it
4) Water generously or in accordance with recommendations for your particular tree species
5) Please take a picture of your child(ren) with your newly planted tree (and share on our Facebook page, if you are comfortable) – watching your tree and kids grow together is a magical joy!
Finally, I want to say that these trees are small and vulnerable. Not all of them survive and that is Ok. It is a part of life and a part of the tree planting process. We do our part and then we have to leave the rest to Mother Nature. A lost tree seedling might break a child’s heart and there is a great lesson in this too. We mustn’t give up! We will keep sending you trees each year and we will keep on planting them.
I had to plant many trees before this one finally made it and reached maturity!
Thank you, again, for participating in Neighborhood Forest’s 13th annual free tree giveaway. We are excited to see all the smiling faces with their little trees!
Our program is made possible through generous donations and sponsorships. Check out our growing community of sponsors.
If you, an organization, a business, or someone you know would like to sponsor our program, please contact us or go to our GoFundMe campaign. We still have some funds to raise!
Thank you!
Happy Earth Day (4/22) Happy Neighborhood Forest Day (4/26) Happy Arbor Day (4/30)
Dear Grandparents, Parents, Guardians, Teachers, Volunteers, Coordinators, Students, and Children,
Your trees are coming soon – sometime next week (hopefully before or on Earth Day – April 22nd)! Your school, library, or youth group leader will be in touch with you.
This message contains important information about your new tree, including planting instructions and species information.
First, I want you to know that you are one of 18,500 people that will be planting trees for Earth Week. You are part of one of the largest coordinated, volunteer, urban / residential tree planting projects in America!
This year has been special for us. In late February, our program went viral among librarians. We had a 20x surge in interest in our program from last year and a record 3x growth in the number of trees we are giving away.
We are thrilled that you are participating!
We would love for you to share a photo of your newly planted tree with your child(ren) on our Facebook page (or you can email us directly). We love collecting “then and nows” of the kids with their trees.
If you or someone you know would like to be a sponsor of our program, please let us know.
Since we had such an unexpected increase in demand for trees, we found ourselves in a bit of a funding gap. One of our friends decided to help us by starting this lovely GoFundMe campaign.
Check out her cool video and song, “I Love Trees!”
Katie Strand's "I Love Trees" Neighborhood Forest
If you know anyone who might like to contribute to our program, feel free to spread the word!
We are giving away 7 different species of trees in 35 states this year:
Coast Live Oak (California)
Eldarica Pine (New Mexico and Texas)
Hackberry (Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, parts of Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, Tennessee)
Loblolly Pine (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, parts of North Carolina, South Carolina)
Virginia Pine (Parts of North Carolina, Virginia)
White Pine (Connecticut, Massachusetts, parts of Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island)
White Spruce (Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming)
Please click here to see planting instructions for both evergreen and deciduous variety.
Some key points to keep in mind:
1) Keep your tree in a cool, dark place (refrigerated for those in northern states) until you plant it
2) Protect your newly planted tree from wildlife and lawnmowers with a little fence and netting
3) Put some mulch around it
4) Water generously or in accordance with recommendations for your particular tree species
5) Please take a picture of your child(ren) with your newly planted tree (and share on our Facebook page, if you are comfortable) – watching your tree and kids grow together is a magical joy!
Finally, I want to say that these trees are small and vulnerable. Not all of them survive and that is Ok. It is a part of life and a part of the tree planting process. We do our part and then we have to leave the rest to Mother Nature. A lost tree seedling might break your child’s heart and there is a great lesson in this too. We mustn’t give up! We will keep sending you trees each year and we will keep on planting them.
I had to plant many trees before this one finally made it and reached maturity!
Thank you, again, for participating in Neighborhood Forest’s 12th annual free tree giveaway. We are excited to see all the smiling faces with their little trees!
Happy Earth Day (and Week)! Your tree is coming (if it has not already)!
Thank you for registering to receive and plant a free tree with your child(ren) through Neighborhood Forest!
You are part of a coordinated national tree planting initiative that will involve close to 7000 families across North America!
Important Information About Your New Tree
Trees are being shipped to schools this week and will be brought home with your child(ren) by Thursday or Friday this week.
Please keep your tree refrigerated and roots damp until planted!
Most of you will be receiving an Eastern Red Cedar tree. Below is information about your new tree and some simple planting instructions.
The eastern redcedar grows to a height of 40–50′ and a spread of 8–20′ at maturity and grows at a medium rate, with height increases of 13–24″ per year.
Redcedars are unusually long-lived, with the potential to live over 900 years. The oldest tree reported, from West Virginia, is 940 years old!
Full sun is the ideal condition for this tree, meaning it should get at least six hours of direct, unfiltered sunlight each day.
Redcedar foliage provides nesting and roosting cover for sparrows, robins, mockingbirds, juncos, and warblers.
The eastern redcedar is an ancient tree, dating back to aboriginal America.
Want to thank us?
Please send us pictures of your kids with the trees! We love seeing the smiling kids with their trees, especially when they are planted.
We are celebrating our 10th year of giving away free trees and we are starting to collect “then and now” photos of the kids and their trees (see below). We would love to collect more!
These pictures keep us inspired and motivated – please share the joy! You can post them on our Facebook page.
We are ever so grateful for your participation in our program.
It would not be possible without dedicated parents, children, schools, coordinators, volunteers, and sponsors.
Thank you for making this spring season extra special!
We’re a month into the New Year, and that means resolutions have been made, and some have already been abandoned. It means we’ve contemplated the past year, and considered changes for this one to come. It means we have new hopes, dreams, and aspirations.
Hopes, dreams, and aspirations sometimes change, but I’ve always loved nature. I’ve always believed our Earth to be an extension of ourselves, and we of it. So of course I love trees, and I feel honored to have to joined Neighborhood Forest this year.
During my research to learn more about trees, I learned a tree goes through a life cycle much like a human’s (including birth, infancy, adolescence, teen, adulthood, and maturity). This fact was eye opening for me. I’ve always felt trees were somewhat majestic. Now, I see trees as unique beings, that provide us clean air and oxygen, shade us from the sun, and are home to so many other kinds of life. I also see that every tree is special, just like every person. Isn’t it a beautiful thing we get to share that wonder with children, our neighbors and future generations?
This new year your resolutions don’t have to be huge or nearly unattainable. What are you grateful for, thankful for, even if it’s something small? Even if it’s something as small as a tree seedling. I’m grateful that I get to share my love of nature with children and our communities. My resolution is to share that love as far and wide as I can this year. What are you going to go?
If you would like to join in on the Neighborhood Forest mission, and share your love of nature with school children, giving them free trees for Earth Day and teaching them about community, consider becoming a sponsor or contact us to find out how you can help. Let’s grow this New Year into a better future together:)
