Happy 10th Anniversary!
And what are we celebrating exactly?
The 5th of November is a big day for Trees For Life as we celebrate our 10th anniversary.
Anniversary of what, you might ask?
The planting of our first tree. We planted a sugar maple at the coroner’s office in Toronto. We choose to plant a maple tree near Keele St. and highway 401 to launch a campaign to “reforest” the Highway of Heroes, which starts at CFB Trenton and ends 170 kilometres west at the Coroners office.
This highway section was the route travelled by 158 Canadians lost during the Afghan conflict and repatriated on Canadian soil in Trenton. The highway is named in honour of all Canadians who served our country during times of war.
Our goal was to plant 117,000 trees on or near the highway, one for each Canadian lost at war since 1812
Plus, 2.1 million more trees to acknowledge the courage of every Canadian who volunteered for military service during times of war.
The tree planting campaign raised over $10 million and we over-achieved our goals by planting 2.5 million trees. After all, some trees did not thrive and we wanted a LIVING tree for every military personnel honoured.
We put a bow on that campaign three years ago when his honour David Johnston planted the last tree at Fort York in Toronto.
Then, the team rededicated ourselves to maximizing the urban tree canopy across the country. Trees For Life was born.
And here we are, having raised over $18 million in total and planted more than 3.3 million urban trees.
So, we celebrate the seven year success of one campaign and the launch of a repurposed charitable organization, three years ago.
10 years. A lot of leaves have fallen and roots have grown.
The celebration of this milestone raises some good questions.
What makes Trees For Life different?
There are other not-for-profit organizations that are dedicated to planting trees and we believe every one of them is doing great work.
Regularly I have pop-up ads on my computer from Tree Canada, and when I see these ads I am delighted that one more communication about the benefits of tree planting is out there.
The recently renamed Forests Canada are doing great work, including the reforestation of large tracks of land across the country.
LEAF is a charity tree planting organization that is dedicated to urban tree planting, as we are. Which is why we partner with them every chance we get. Together we plant MORE trees.
And we don’t just plant trees, we GROW them. We commit the resources to water and maintain our trees for three years after they are planted. Otherwise, we are wasting our time and donors’ money.
Truth is, Trees For Life will partner with anyone and any organization that is interested in adding to the urban tree canopy across the country. Our mission is to collaborate and create benefits that accrue when more than one of us takes up the shovel and plants a tree.
Not one tree, multiple trees.
That is why a tree that you buy from Trees For Life is multiplied four times.
Put another way, I quote our Executive Director Marina Dimitriatus, who will share this with one hundred of our supporters when they gather November 4th at the Toronto Botanical Gardens, “We’re not just a planting organization - we’re conveners.
We bring the right people together, we open doors where capacity is limited, and we help scale impact where others can’t.
Our strengths really lie in how we work - in our ability to connect, to move quickly, to tell stories that make people care, and to deliver big, meaningful projects.”
And there you have it.
10 years worth celebrating.
Over 5,000 individual Canadian donors.
Over 6,000 volunteer tree planters.
3.3 million URBAN trees.
Ambition to plant in every urban space where more trees are needed.
And, through our Trees For Heroes program, the planting of a living tribute to everyday Canadian heroes including first responders, military, health care workers and the heroes in your life.
We invite you to celebrate with us.
As ever yours,
Mark
