Tag Archives: tree planting

environmental volulnteers, forest ecology, forest restoration, Robert Barossi

Volunteers See the Forest for the Trees

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IMG_1108Photo by Robert Barossi

by Robert Barossi

A little searching this morning revealed a number of forest-related volunteer stories. Tree planting and forest protection are among the most common, and most important, environmental volunteer tasks. And its happening everywhere.

In Washington, numerous volunteers, including Friends of North Creek Forest and students from University of Washington, have gathered to restore the North Creek Forest.

In Encinitas, near San Diego, community volunteers planted a “Food Forest” of fauna which will provide food for the surrounding community.

On the other side of the country, in Lafayette, Louisiana, volunteers are planting a similar forest of fruit trees at Acadiana Park Nature Station.

Finally, back in the other direction, even farther away, volunteers are planting trees in Hawaii to rebuild a forest area destroyed by fire.

For many more stories of environmental volunteers, download my eBook – Being Where You Are: How Environmental Volunteers Impact Their Community and the Planet Every Day

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environmental volunteers, Mississippi, Pascagoula, Robert Barossi, urban forests

Volunteers Build an Urban Forest

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Up a Tree(Photo by Robert Barossi)

by Robert Barossi

Lots of environmental volunteer stories involve heading out into the wilderness, deep into woods and forests, to conduct volunteer work. Just as important, though, are the efforts that take place in our cities. Environmental volunteer work is happening in numerous urban centers, from major metropolitan areas to the smallest of cities. On the gulf coast of Mississippi, in the city of Pascagoula, volunteers have been working to create what they’re hoping will be an urban forest. Work on the one acre plot of land includes removing invasive species and planting native trees, among other projects. They are hoping to make I.G. Levy park even more of a green space and attract more birds and wildlife to the area, as well as more tourists and nature lovers. In industrialized and urbanized places like this, nature is often nearly wiped out. It’s usually up to volunteers to keep these pockets of wild, green spaces, and the nature that thrives there, alive and well.

If you’ve enjoyed the stories on this blog, download my eBook, Being Where You Are: How Environmental Volunteers Impact Their Community and the Planet

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environmental volunteer, Forest Unlimited, Robert Barossi, tree planting

Volunteer Tree Planting

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Up a Tree(Photo by Robert Barossi)

by Robert Barossi

Surprising to nobody might be the fact that all the volunteer stories I’m coming across today are from California, where the weather is warm and sunny. Here in New England, winter has finally arrived, with temperatures in the teens and single digits. Still, there’s no doubt that volunteers in this area are still out there, testing water quality, checking trails and keeping up with their important activities. For now, a look at one of those Californian volunteer tales, this one from Sonoma County in northern California. Volunteers are working with the group Forest Unlimited to plant redwood seedlings in an effort to “enhance and protect forests and watersheds.” The organization, which plants trees in a number of areas, makes sure that the new trees are placed in areas where they will survive and thrive, ensuring a positive ecological impact. While not always so carefully targeted, tree planting is an important task that volunteers or anyone else can easily take on no matter where they live.

Check out Forest Unlimited’s website for more information on their events and activities.

If you have enjoyed any of the stories on this blog, please consider downloading my eBook, Being Where You Are: How Environmental Volunteers Impact Their Community and the Planet Every Day. It’s available on:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Kobo

and iTunes

BeingFinal

environmental volunteers, Miami, Robert Barossi, tree planting, TREEmendous Miami

Tree-mendous Volunteer Work

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Up a Tree(photo by Robert Barossi)

by Robert Barossi

It’s not every day that a volunteer organization is honored with…well…a day. That is, a day in their honor, set aside just for them, to recognize all of their hard work. In Miami, the City Commission did just that, honoring TREEmendous Miami by proclaiming it to be “TREEmendous Miami Day.” The group certainly deserves the recognition, having planted more than 25,000 trees over 16 years, with only volunteers doing the work.  Their long term success and dedication to their mission (“we are volunteers united to build community pride by planting, promoting and preserving trees in Miami-Dade County”) is an inspiration and a model for any similar organization.

Visit TREEmendous’ website for more information.