Tag: planet

Parent FAQs

Click here for a downloadable version of the Parent FAQs

What kind of tree will we be getting?

      • Neighborhood Forest aims to provide native trees in all the regions we serve. Last year we gave away 11 different species. We tend to provide species on a state-by-state basis and like to provide different species each year to provide variety and diversity of trees.

When will my tree be arriving and will it be shipped directly to my address?

      • We aim to have the trees arrive to your school, library, or youth group leader in time for Earth Day. If you are ordering your free tree from your child’s school, your child should bring the tree home when it is distributed at their school around Earth Day (April 22).
      • If you are ordering your tree through your library, you will need to pick up your tree from your library when it arrives. You are responsible for contacting your library and arranging for the pick up of your tree around Earth Day.
      • While the library should be contacting you about pick up details, we encourage you to be proactive. If you are ordering your tree through a scout group, we encourage you to contact the scout leader about pick up details around Earth Day.

How do I care for my tree to ensure that it grows and thrives?

      • We encourage you to walk through this tree planting guide for best practices on caring for your tree.

What if I don’t have a yard or place to plant my tree? Can I plant my tree in a pot and leave it indoors?

    • Ideally, you want to plant your tree in the ground, outside, in a permanent location where you can watch and care for its growth. These trees are accustomed to being outside in the elements, so if you do keep it in a pot for a year or two, be sure to keep it outside.
    • We are in the process of developing an alternative indoor plant program for kids that do not have a yard or live in apartments. We hope to make this option available in the near future!
    • In the meantime, if you do not have a yard to plant your tree, we encourage you to plant your tree with a willing friend or family member who has a yard.

How does Neighborhood Forest fund all of these free trees?

How can I donate?

Neighborhood Forest

5244 Zenith Ave South

Minneapolis, MN 55410

    • All donations are tax-deductible within the guidelines of U.S. law and are not an exchange for any goods or services.

How can I offset my carbon footprint through Neighborhood Forest?

      • The average American consumes 7 trees per year in wood and paper products and emits 20 tons of CO2 annually. One tree will sequester 1 ton of CO2 in its lifetime (on average). So, to go carbon neutral via trees, a person has to plant 20 trees for every year they are on the planet. Factoring in estimated tree survival rates and annual wood and paper consumption, we recommend planting 50 trees per year per person to offset an individual’s tree and carbon footprint – thus the 50 trees x $5 = $250 / year or $25 / month membership cost calculation.

How can I get connected?

Updated 7/28/23

Neighborhood Forest Inaugurates Neighborhood Forest Day – April 26th

April 26th, 2022

Happy Neighborhood Forest Day!

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.

Join us in our celebration!

Ready to Decorate Your Home?

Posted on March 23, 2016 by vnarula

Have you noticed all the new home decorating magazines popping up at checkout counters and bookstores lately? It seems there’s a new one arriving everyday.

There must be hundreds of them now. Some are tied to a famous brand or person. Some have European-sounding names. Some are just weird. But regardless of where they fall on the spectrum, most of them are saying the same thing.

Add color! Paint! Renovate! Remodel! Buy nice towels. Done.

Ok, maybe that’s a bit simplified.

Some of the articles have interesting nuggets of advice, but I find most a little over the top. For instance, one magazine suggested my life will find new meaning when I begin to hold regular soirees filled with glitter balloons, spiced pear truffles and some kind of lustrous light candleholders.

Really?

Thanks for the advice, but I’ll pass.

All the inspiration I need is right in front of me. Spring has officially arrived, which means over the next several weeks I’ve got a front-row seat to learn from the Mother of all Home Decorators.

Can anyone match her creativity, her brilliance, when it comes to decorating her own home? What’s a glitter balloon compared to a budding flower?  What are spiced pear truffles compared to a juicy, ripe pear she lets me pluck and eat off a tree?

Wouldn’t it be great if we helped Mama Nature out a bit? She’s been doing this for a couple zillion years. 

Of course, we can’t match her attention to detail, but I’m sure she wouldn’t mind some extra help. What if we cared for, decorated and celebrated our collective home with the same zeal as she does, with as much love as those magazines want us to care for and celebrate our individual ones?

The good news is we are. Millions of us are coming together on April 22 to honor the greatest home decorator and greatest home ever.

All of us are contributing in our own small way. Neighborhood Forest, for instance, is launching its biggest tree giveaway yet, hoping to give away nearly 10,000 trees to kids during Earth Week (April 18-22).

Do you want a tree for your child? You can sign up (on a laptop, tablet or desktop computer) to get one. To find out if your child’s school participating, you can go to this link: https://www.neighborhoodforest.org/search-for-school/

We know parent participation increases when kids are involved. If a child wants a tree to plant, we don’t want them to go home from school empty-handed. So this year we’ve created a fun video just for them. (See below.)

We hope it will make them smile, reminding them to tell mom or dad not to forget our real “home decorating” day!

Earth Day is coming. Come join the celebration and let’s decorate our home together. 

No glitter balloons necessary.

Let's Celebrate Our Home!

Vivek Narula is the Director of Neighborhood Forest (@treesforkids) – an organization that gives free trees to schoolchildren every Earth Day.