Blog
Hello Coordinators!
Please click on the PDF packet below for commonly asked questions and guidelines for coordinators (including instructions for preparing the trees to hand out):
Click here: Coordinator FAQ Guidelines
Thank you for helping us spread joy, beauty, and goodness!
Updated 3/22/23
Click here for a downloadable version of the Parent FAQs
What kind of tree will we be getting?
When will my tree be arriving and will it be shipped directly to my address?
How do I care for my tree to ensure that it grows and thrives?
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?
How does Neighborhood Forest fund all of these free trees?
How can I donate?
Neighborhood Forest
5244 Zenith Ave South
Minneapolis, MN 55410
How can I offset my carbon footprint through Neighborhood Forest?
How can I get connected?
Updated 3/22/23
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!
April 20, 2021
Neighborhood Forest has formed a strategic partnership with Cahoot, an e-commerce fulfillment network that has been recognized by Fast Company as one of the world’s most innovative logistics companies.
Neighborhood Forest loves planting trees and watching them grow. An average American family creates an annual carbon footprint equivalent to what 75 trees sequester in their lifetime. 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. Neighborhood Forest helps offset that carbon footprint by introducing tens of thousands of children to the joy of growing trees every year. It has provided over 50,000 trees to over 400 schools, libraries, and youth groups since its inception in 2010.
Neighborhood Forest experienced a record amount of tree sign-ups this year, significantly outpacing our normal capacity to fulfill orders in time for Earth Day 2021. We needed an immediate solution that aligned with our mission to help the planet. With some research, luck, and serendipity, we found Cahoot – the world’s first peer-to-peer e-commerce fulfillment network! With its collaborative “Power of Many” business model, merchants store inventory and fulfill orders for each other on the Cahoot network.
Cahoot’s revolutionary technology and business methods cut down the distance packages need to travel. By intelligently placing inventory closer to customers – businesses and non-profit organizations can deliver goods quickly using sustainable ground shipping rather than air freight. This made Cahoot the perfect fulfillment partner for Neighborhood Forest. Cahoot provided the essential additional storage and fulfillment services required to deliver thousands of 6-12” White Pine trees to kids throughout the U.S. in time for this Earth Day (April 22).
According to Cahoot Founder and CEO Manish Chowdhary, “At its heart, Cahoot makes e-commerce and shipping greener. Ground shipping produces 85% less CO2 emissions and costs up to 50% less than air cargo. It’s a win-win for the planet, the merchant, and the end-consumer whenever we optimize an order! Our partnership with Neighborhood Forest is a no-brainer because we believe in a greener world while making green!”
“We are thrilled to partner with Cahoot. Together, we’re enabling even more families across the US to make the world greener with the additional fulfillment capabilities that Cahoot brings. Best of all, we’re doing it affordably and sustainably with ground shipping. Coincidentally, there is even a mention of the word “Cahoots” in the popular “I Love Trees” song written and sung by Katie Strand in honor of trees, Neighborhood Forest, and Earth Day,” said Vikas Narula, Founder of Neighborhood Forest.
‘Trees talk through their roots, interconnected they’re in cahoots!’
“Now, we’re in cahoots with Cahoot – it’s so perfect”, said Vikas.
Due to the overwhelming demand for trees, Neighborhood Forest has stopped taking tree orders for this coming Earth Day. However, they welcome others to join their carbon-neutral family with sponsorships and donations of any size at http://www.neighborhoodforest.org/our-sponsors or support the GoFundMe campaign at https://www.gofundme.com/f/neighborhood-forest
ABOUT CAHOOT
Cahoot is the world’s first peer-to-peer eCommerce fulfillment network that helps online businesses offer nationwide 1-day and 2-day deliveries. Cahoot offers drastically lower fulfillment fees because it enables merchants to store and ship the merchandise for each other. This novel business model also allows merchants to make extra money using their existing warehouse space and personnel. Visit http://www.cahoot.ai or LinkedIn
ABOUT NEIGHBORHOOD FOREST
Neighborhood Forest was founded in 2010 by Vikas Narula. When he was a college student in the early 1990s at Maharishi International University (Fairfield, Iowa), he learned of a free tree project started by David Kidd of Ohio. Vikas and his college friends adopted the program and gave away tens of thousands of trees to schoolchildren across southeast Iowa. What began, in 2010, with four schools in Minneapolis has grown to over 400 schools, libraries, and youth groups in 35 states across America and Canada. Neighborhood Forest’s goal is to reach every child in North America and, eventually, the world.
April 12, 2021
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.
Our program is funded by a growing community of generous sponsors.
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!”
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)
These are all beautiful trees!
Please click here to learn more about your tree.
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!
One of my favorite lessons around this is from Tyler Perry. He has great wisdom, which not only relates to planting trees but all aspects of life.
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, Happy Arbor Day, Happy Earth Week, and Happy Spring!
Warmly,
Vikas
____________________________
Vikas Narula
Founder
Neighborhood Forest
5244 Zenith Ave. South
Minneapolis, MN 55410
www.neighborhoodforest.org
Posted on April 25, 2019 by vnarula
Dear Parents,
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!
