When is planting a tree more than planting a tree?
By Mark Cullen
GivingTuesday is this Tuesday, December 2nd. It is the biggest day of the year for Canadian charities as Canadians, just like you, dig deep and donate their hard-earned in return for the satisfaction of doing something good and a tax receipt.
Giving to Trees For Life helps us plant trees in the urban environment across the country. But wait, there is more.
This year we have succeeded in planting more urban trees than we have since the pre-COVID era. Over 135,000. I mention this as we are in the midst of a “fundraising” campaign that will provide the fuel for our spring “tree planting” campaign.
We spin in a cycle of campaigns, it seems.
Not that our trees need to know that. They just want to put down roots and grow: sequester carbon and produce oxygen as they do so well. Better than anything created by the hand of humankind.
We like to say that we do not just plant trees, we grow them. Every tree planted is maintained for a minimum of 3 years. Water is added during drought, weeds controlled, and rodents and deer discouraged. This is why our success rate, the % of trees that thrive, is an industry leading 85%.
Back to the question: when is planting a tree more than planting a tree?
When it is nurtured and protected through its adolescence. In time, our trees mature into magnificent specimens.
When you celebrate and thank a Hero. The Trees For Life Hero forest concept is taking off across Canada. It works like this: you buy a tree for $150 and we plant one for a Hero (capitalized on purpose) in your life. I urge you think about this. I am buying a tree for each of my grand children: 8 of them. Each receives a certificate stating that a tree has been planted in their name and that YOU made it happen. “Thank you Hero in my life!”
Matching funds. You buy a tree, we plant 2. When you give, no matter the amount, it is matched through the 2 Billion Tree Program. You may have read that this program was nixed by the federal government in the last budget. Well, note that the commitment that Natural Resources Canada made to Trees For Life two years ago still has three years to go. In total $4 million has been committed to planting urban trees across the country. This year we pledged to plant 27,000 trees under this program: we more than doubled this number.
More matching funds. When we create planting partnerships with municipalities, environmental organizations, conservation authorities and private land owners, we share the costs. Our partners agree to provide an equal value at the table: you buy a tree, we plant 4.
More is more with regular giving. When you pledge to give monthly, whatever the amount, you help us plan future tree planting for years to come. Planning is an important part of running any charity, but where tree planting is concerned, we need to know what resources we have in hand before we can commit t to large, multi-year tree planting.
Finally, a word about how much you give.
This is a touchy subject and more personal than just about anything other than your answer to the question, “will you marry me?” I approach it with some sensitivity, especially during tough financial times for most Canadians.
It matters very little how much you donate. What matters much more is what you sacrificed to do the right thing. If you believe, as we do, that planting trees in the Canadian urban environment is the best possible way to enhance the communities in which we live based on human health, nature’s health, economic and environmental sustainability. If you agree then let me say this: every donation that you make helps us build community.
Every donor counts. It is, after all, not about “equal giving, but equal sacrifice”.
When I volunteered for this job over 10 years ago I did not know how much time it would consume or that the journey to this day of great success would get bumpy, at times. But it has been worth the effort.
I hope that you will find both the effort to volunteer with us next spring and to donate now, especially during GivingTuesday worth it.
That would be the fulfillment of my #1 Christmas wish.
And I hope we can help fulfill yours.
As ever yours,
Mark
