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116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Tree vouchers will help eligible Cedar Rapids residents buy trees to replant after 2020 derecho
Residents must attend info sessions to potentially receive $100 or $250 voucher
Jan. 18, 2023 6:15 am
CEDAR RAPIDS — Local nonprofit Trees Forever is teaming up with five local nurseries to offer tree vouchers for Cedar Rapids residents to help replenish the tree canopy lost in the 2020 derecho.
Eligible participants can qualify for a $100 or $250 voucher toward the purchase of a tree on the tree species list specified in the ReLeaf plan, the city of Cedar Rapids’ partnership with Trees Forever to replant on public land and provide resources to guide replanting on private property.
Grace Kann, a Cornell College environmental studies student, had worked on a similar program in Dubuque and approached Trees Forever with the idea while working on her senior capstone project, Trees Forever’s ReLeaf manager Kent VonBehren previously said.
“It drives traffic to these local nurseries, but they're helping us by educating residents when they’re there,” VonBehren said.
To receive a voucher, residents may fill out the registration form available at treesforever.org/voucher-program/ and attend an hourlong informational session. The session will provide information on the ReLeaf plan as well as resources to help plant and care for newly planted trees.
A limited number of vouchers will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last.
Trees Forever will host informational sessions at various Cedar Rapids locations during the following dates and times:
- Session 1: 5:30 p.m. Jan. 25, Ushers Ferry Lodge at 5925 Seminole Valley Trail NE
- Session 2: 2 p.m. Jan. 29, Beems Auditorium A at the downtown Cedar Rapids Public Library, 450 Fifth Ave. SE
- Session 3: 2 p.m. Feb. 5, Community Room at the Northwest Recreation Center, 1340 11th St. NW
- Session 4: 5:30 p.m. Feb. 15, Community Room at the Cedar Rapids Public Library — Ladd Library, 3750 Williams Blvd. SW
- Session 5: 5:30 p.m. March 8, Ushers Ferry Lodge, 5925 Seminole Valley Trail NE
- Session 6: 2:30 p.m. March 12, Community Room at the Cedar Rapids Public Library — Ladd Library, 3750 Williams Blvd. SW
Where to redeem tree vouchers
- Fleming Nursery, 7900 Peterman Lane, Cedar Rapids
- Next Generation Landscape Nursery, 831 Vernon Valley Dr. SE, Cedar Rapids
- Culver’s Lawn & Landscape, 1682 Old Dubuque Rd., Marion
- Cedar River Garden Center, 2889 Palo Marsh Rd., Palo
- Baumhoefener Nursery, 4241 Johnson Ave. NW, Cedar Rapids
Eligibility rules
- Resident of Cedar Rapids
- Eligibility for $100 or $250 voucher is based on the participant’s home address and is consistent with the ReLeaf plan
- Vouchers must be used to purchase a tree on the ReLeaf Master Tree List
- Vouchers are valid until May 31, 2023
- Vouchers may only be used once
- One voucher per household
- Vouchers have no cash value outside the purchase of your tree(s)
- Trees purchased with a voucher must be planted in the homeowner’s private yard
Comments: (319) 398-8494; marissa.payne@thegazette.com
Trees Forever watering crew members Christian DeWolf (left) and Sawyer Miller (right) water a tree in southwest Cedar Rapids on Aug. 3, 2022. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette)
