Earth Day is Coming. The New Hires are Waiting.

Posted on April 6, 2013 by vnarula

“Mr. Finneas, your 9 am is here.”

“Send him in.”

Door creaks open.

“Come in, come in. You must be Mr. Quercus Alba.”

“Yes, sir. But you can call me Bob.”

“Sure Bob. Please have a seat.”

“I prefer to stand, sir.”

“Sure. Look, Bob, we reviewed your resume and here’s what we think: it’s outstanding. Graduated top of your class. Strong commitment to community service. Ivy League.”

“It’s actually oak, sir.”

“Right. What’s more, you have an impressive skill set.”

“Well, it’s nothing really…I…”

“Nothing? Produce oxygen, improve air quality, clean the soil, control noise pollution, slow storm water run off, provide shade, act as a windbreak, fight soil erosion…”

“Create spreadsheets.”

“Really…I…didn’t…”

“Kidding.”

“Right. Look Bob, your skills are great, but we’re concerned about our bottom line here at Finneas and Fir, and well, you know…”

“Money doesn’t grow on trees, right?”

“Right.”

“Wrong, sir. I increase property values too.”

“Really?”

“Second page, sir, under additional qualifications — next to eye for detail.”

“Right. Well, I think that settles it. Congratulations Bob. You’re hired. Now if we only had more overachievers like you on board, we’d be able to cut out some of the deadwood around here.”

“Excuse me, sir?”

“Figure of speech.”

“Oh.”

If trees were employees, anyone would hire them. They are great workers. They don’t take vacations, they work long hours and definitely don’t embarrass themselves at office parties.

Like any great worker, they impact the environment around them. The roles that trees play in our neighborhoods and our communities directly affect the quality of our air, water and soil. What are some of those roles?

Trees make our lungs happy by cleaning the air. They take in carbon dioxide through their leaves and give off oxygen we need to breathe. A mature tree pumps out as much oxygen in one season as 10 people will inhale in an entire year.

When there’s rain, a tree’s roots help hold soil in place to prevent erosion, which not only saves soil but also keeps our streams, rivers and lakes cleaner.

“Trees, these wonderful stewards of the Earth, deserve our appreciation. On April 22, Earth Day, we invite you to spread the love.”

Of course, they are many ways in which trees affect our environment. That’s why these wonderful stewards of the Earth deserve our appreciation. On April 22, Earth Day, we invite you to spread the love.

On Earth Day we’re giving hundreds of trees away to over 10 schools throughout the Twin Cities. If you’re the parent of a child getting a tree, plant it with them and make it an event. Post a picture on Facebook or tweet about it to your friends and family. Your tree will love all the attention.

The trees are ready to meet their new families this Earth Day. Make them feel welcome. They’ve got a lot of work to do!

For more information on the many ways in which trees affect our urban environments, check out this excellent video.

Planting Roots Online

Posted on February 1, 2013 by vnarula

Welcome to our new website!

Thank you for being here. We hope the new website makes it easier for you to connect with us and find out what’s happening at Neighborhood Forest.

You might be familiar with us already. You might be a school coordinator, the parent of a child who received a free tree at school, or one of our green sponsors — if so, we’d like to thank you. It’s your commitment to Neighborhood Forest that’s helped us give more free trees to more schoolchildren each year. Your encouragement, your suggestions and your continuing support have been invaluable. Neighborhood Forest couldn’t have gotten this far without you.

If you are new to Neighborhood Forest, consider this an invitation to be part of our online community. Friend us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or drop us a line. Let us know your thoughts.

“You might be a school coordinator, the parent of a child who received a free tree at school, or one of our green sponsors — if so, we’d like to thank you.”

If your thoughts are you’d like more people to know what we’re doing, feel free to pass a friendly word along, or better yet, become a school coordinator or even a sponsor. Tell a friend, speak to your child’s teacher, your next-door neighbor, your boss, the school around the corner, the green business down the block, or even that progressive uncle who can’t stop talking about his plug-in hybrid, about our mission to give away free trees to kids every Earth Day.

What if you know people who live outside the Twin Cities or Minnesota? No worries. They’re welcome here too. We plan to expand beyond our state borders in the future, so we may be in their neighborhood soon.

So thank you again, all of you, new friends and old, for your interest in Neighborhood Forest.

We hope you stick around for this exciting journey. Together, we’ll be able to get more small trees into the little hands of more beautiful children.