2017 Recap

2017 Recap

What a year at the NJ Tree Foundation! Here are highlights from our 2017 accomplishments, including the planting of 3,664 trees thanks to the help of over 1,300 volunteers. Thank you for being a part of our success! We are looking forward to partnering with you in 2018. If you love these photos and want to contribute to our success in 2018, please donate. Happy New Year, tree family! Read more

NJ Tree Foundation Celebrates #GivingTuesday

#GivingTuesday is a holiday for being generous. Please celebrate with us this year! Your donation to the NJ Tree Foundation will help us plant more trees in 2018, bringing shade and beauty to New Jersey cities with low tree canopy coverage. Your donation will help us train and employ men under parole supervision, giving them an opportunity to learn green industry job skills as they re-enter society. Your donation will help us improve the environment and quality of life for New Jersey residents, making our state better one tree at a time.

If you are participating in #GivingTuesday, feel free to post a picture with our customized #UNselfie template and tell others why you are supporting the NJ Tree Foundation!

 

FREE Fruit Trees for Camden Residents!

Attention, Camden residents! The NJ Tree Foundation is offering FREE fruit trees to any interested residents in Camden! We are currently offering peaches, pears, plums, and apples (species may change depending on availability of the plants). In order to receive a tree, fill out an application and return to Meredith no later than August 15th. You can email your application to mbrown@njtreefoundation.org, or mail to PO Box 1221, Camden, NJ 08105. You can also call to submit your application at 856-287-4488.  After your application is confirmed, you will need to attend a one-hour workshop on Saturday, September 9th. More information about the workshop will be made available closer to September. Hope to see you there!

Fruit Tree Revised Application 2017 (pdf)

 

 

FREE Right Tree Right Place Seminar in Newark’s Branch Brook Park

This seminar is closed. Thank you for your interest. We will have another Right Tree Right Place Seminar in south Jersey in the fall.

The New Jersey Tree Foundation and Public Service Electric & Gas are offering a FREE seminar on planting the Right Tree in the Right Place, the Right Way on Friday, July 7th at the Cherry Blossom Welcome Center in Branch Brook Park, Newark, NJ. Please RSVP by Friday, June 30, 2017 to Lisa Simms LSimms@NJTreeFoundation.org

Topics include:

  • Emerald Ash Borer – It’s here! The latest news on this bad bug.
  • Planting the right tree, in the right place, the right way – Green end up.
  • The importance of utility mark-outs prior to planting – Do you smell gas?
  • Vegetation management policies to ensure the safe and reliable delivery of electric service – Who turned off the lights?

Who should attend? Mayors, Freeholders, DPW Supervisors & staff, Environmental & Shade Tree Commissioners, County Officials and any other interested parties. Space is limited. First-come, first-served.

Date: Friday, July 7, 2017

Time: Registration begins at 8:00 am. Program starts promptly at 8:30 am and runs until 12:30 pm.

Place: Cherry Blossom Welcome Center, Branch Brook Park Drive & Verona Avenue, Branch Brook Park, Newark, NJ

A continental breakfast will be served.

This seminar is worth three (3) Continuing Education Units for towns with a 5-year Community Forestry Management Plan, is approved by the ISA for 3 (three) Arborist certification renewal credits and is worth 3 Public Works CEUs.

Please RSVP by Friday, June 30th to LSimms@njtreefoundation.org

If you would like send a representative(s), please include their names and contact information (email address).

NJ Tree Foundation Celebrates Opening Day for The Circuit

NJ Tree Foundation Celebrates Opening Day for The Circuit

April 8, 2017Camden, NJ – Today, Saturday, April 8th, the NJ Tree Foundation is celebrating the official season opening of the Circuit and we ask you to join us! Did you know the Circuit is one of America’s largest trail networks and it runs through your backyard? There are several trails in Camden connecting to Philadelphia and beyond. Read more

Help Us Plant Trees this Spring

Hey volunteers! Are you ready to get outside, dig in the dirt, and help beautify urban communities with trees? We are, and we hope you’ll join us! This spring, the NJ Tree Foundation has a full schedule of exciting community tree planting events in Camden, Newark, and Gloucester City. We’re looking for dedicated volunteers like you to help make these events possible.

In Camden, we’re co-hosting the State Arbor Day Tree Planting on Friday, April 28th. We’re also hosting a large 90-tree event on Saturday, May 6th at the old waterfront prison site, soon to be known as Cooper’s Poynt Waterfront Park. These two events need volunteers.

In Newark, we have 10 tree planting events scheduled all over Brick City! Don’t miss out on the fun as we work with the City of Newark, residents, and community organizations to make a difference through tree planting.

In Gloucester City, we’re hosting our first-ever community tree planting event on Earth Day – Saturday, April 22nd! Join us as we plant trees along the 900 block of Monmouth Street with residents, the local Green Team, and the Tree Committee.

“The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” – Today’s Snapple Cap

News from Jessica at the NJ Tree Foundation

Dear Volunteers, Tree Recipients, & Supporters,

After eight truly amazing years with the NJ Tree Foundation, I’m embarking on a new adventure. On March 28th, I will start working for Camden Lutheran Housing and the Block Supporter Initiative in North Camden.

The NJ Tree Foundation will ensure a smooth transition as they continue their great work in Camden and Gloucester City. Their job posting is available online. Please feel free to share!

In April and May, I will be at the NJ Tree Foundation’s spring planting events and invite you to volunteer with me one last time! On Saturday, April 22nd, we’re partnering with Gloucester City to plant 35 trees for Earth Day! On Friday, April 28th, we are partnering with the State and the City of Camden to plant 10 trees for Arbor Day. On Saturday, May 6th, we are partnering with the City of Camden, Cooper’s Ferry Partnership,
and North Camden stakeholders to plant 90 trees at the old waterfront prison site in North Camden. To help out, simply email me at jfranzini@njtreefoundation.org.

The dedication of our community partners, including Camden residents, has inspired me in more ways than you know. It has been a genuine pleasure working with you over the past eight years – planting trees along your streets, revitalizing your parks, and adding fruit trees to your community gardens. THANK YOU for helping me realize the true transformative power of tree planting and urban greening! I look forward to continuing to serve the Camden community through my new role with Camden Lutheran Housing.

Working for the NJ Tree Foundation has been one of my life’s greatest experiences. I will always look back on these years with a huge smile and a warm heart.

With thanks,
Jessica Franzini
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A Note from NJTF Board and Staff
While we are sad that Jessica is moving on, we celebrate the accomplishments of her amazing body of work. Eight years, over 3,000 trees planted, several greening projects implemented and hundreds of new friends! Her passionate dedication to the NJ Tree Foundation and the world of urban forestry will be greatly missed. Jess has been an amazing team member and has strengthened and expanded the Tree Foundation’s Camden program immensely. We look forward to partnering with Jess on future projects, and wish her the absolute best in both her personal and professional endeavors.

Thank you for your dedication & friendship Jess!

~NJ Tree Foundation Board of Trustees & Staff

Trees for 2017

To everyone who has donated – Thank you! We are so grateful for your support! If you have not already sent a gift, please join the dozens of folks who will help plant trees in 2017.

With your gift we can reforest city streets, plant trees in urban parks, provide fruit trees to community and backyard gardeners, supply city residents with tools and educational materials to maintain their trees, and more! There are a few hours left to make a tax-deductible donation in 2016. Please contribute.

With your help in 2016 we planted 1,322 trees, beautifying city streets and parks and improving neighborhoods across the state. We made lasting, happy memories with hundreds of volunteers and shared success and joy with people like Yvonne, Marion, and Kaushire. Please help us build on last year’s successes.

Trees beautify our communities, bring happiness to city residents, improve air and water quality, and offer habitat and food for our furry and feathered friends. You can make a difference with trees by donating to the NJ Tree Foundation today. Your support is greatly appreciated and will benefit New Jersey and its residents for years to come.

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Sincerely,
Lisa Simms
Executive Director
NJ Tree Foundation
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Green Jobs: “A haircut for trees”

Sometimes our Green Streets Program hires guys that really stand out. Kaushire, who worked with me this past spring and summer, is one of them.

Kaushire hauling soil

Our Green Streets Program trains men under parole supervision to plant trees and complete green infrastructure work, like installing rain gardens. Most of these men simply need a second chance. They got wrapped up in the wrong things and need a job to support themselves and their families in a respectable way. Kaushire was no different. He has a son to support. He made a few mistakes while trying to earn money. But now, he has turned his life around.

Kaushire worked with us until the end of July when our season wrapped up. A warehouse hired Kaushire for part-time employment right after he finished with us. I was happy when he told me recently the warehouse had hired him permanent full-time. He is such a hard worker! You might have seen him smiling and laughing while he was moving concrete or mulch, planting trees, or installing a rain garden in your town.

When asked about his time with the Tree Foundation, Kaushire says, “I’m lucky. My crew got to work from end of March to the end of July. We planted trees. Lots of them! We worked hard. I liked pruning the trees. It’s like a haircut for trees. I’m so blessed to work for the Tree Foundation. Best experience of my life.”

Please help us provide more green job opportunities for guys like Kaushire. There are only a few days left to make a tax-deductible donation in 2016. With your support, we can plant more trees and offer a stepping-stone for men who deserve a second chance.

Thank you,
James Cunningham aka “Famous James”donate-button-jpeg
Urban Forestry Technician & Green Streets Crew Supervisor
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Me, Karon, and Kaushire after planting a rain garden in Newark

40,000 FREE Trees & Shrubs for Spring 2017!

This program has closed. Thank you for your interest!
The NJ Tree Foundation, in partnership with Treecycler, is offering 40,000 tree & shrub saplings for free! Trees & shrubs may be used for reforestation, stream bank restoration, etc.
  • Trees & shrubs must be ordered in packs of 50 (one packet). Minimum order is 500 trees/shrubs or 10 packets.
  • A simple, one-page final report and photographs (before & after) of the tree planting will be required.
  • The NJ Tree Foundation requests that you publicize your tree planting on social media (Facebook, Twitter & Instagram) and regular media.
  • Trees must be picked up from one of the locations listed. You may pick up your order from the Jackson location at any time. Simply call ahead first.
  • Trees must be planted and not given away.

Free Tree Shrub Application

Questions? Email Lisa Simms, lsimms@njtreefoundation.org


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