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Greening the Garden State Through Tree Planting and Education
Rooted in science, New Jersey Tree Foundation beautifies and educates in underserved urban commun...
About this update from Enbridge Inc.
Greening the Garden State Through Tree Planting and EducationRooted in science, New Jersey Tree Foundation beautifies and educates in underserved urban communitiesNORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / February 16, 2024 / Enbridge At left, NJ Tree Foundation volunteers celebrate the tree they just planted in Downtown Newark, NJ. While trees bring extraordinary environmental benefits, especially in urban areas, the act of tree planting sparks and strengthens community spirit. At right, TreeKeepers workshops combine classroom learning and hands-on experiences like maintenance pruning, pictured here, to equip and empower generations of tree stewards to help their communities receive maximum environmental benefits from each tree.Trees provide more benefits than meet the eye.Not only do they provide a place for rest, shade, and a place to call home for countless organisms, but they provide a variety of environmental and mental health benefits.However, communities may not even realize that they are lacking serious benefits from these multi-branch giants simply by not having them around."Not everyone realizes the extent of what a tree can do for a person and the environment," says Pam Zipse, executive director of the New Jersey (NJ) Tree Foundation. "They benefit so many forms of life, and by being out in the community we can get people on board to plant more in their neighborhoods."The NJ Tree Foundation has been focused on planting trees in underserved urban communities for 26 years and has planted over 260,000 trees throughout New Jersey to date."Awareness of the benefits trees provide is a big part of what we bring to the community," says Zipse. "We don't plant in a community unless we have been invited to by the people who live there, so we know the residents want the trees and will take care of them."Extreme care is given to each tree planted so that it thrives in its forever location. Zipse's team ensures that the right tree is planted in each place that won't interfere with other infrastructure, such as power lines, or doesn't block a sidewalk or street.Outside of plantings, the NJ Tree Foundation actively engages with the community through its TreeKeepers program, a free course that empowers community members through accessible workshops on tree care."The relationship-building with the community is every bit as important as the trees themselves," says Zipse. "E...