Partnership produces more trees

By Shannon Ramsay

Back in 1990, Trees Forever and Alliant Energy teamed up on a project to plant trees for energy efficiency and community betterment. Together, we chose Belmond as the pilot because many of their trees had been decimated by a tornado.

That effort quickly became a statewide program, Branching Out. Over the past 20 years, Trees Forever and Alliant Energy have engaged 124,000 community volunteers in planting over 1.1 million trees throughout Iowa. Those trees are saving enough energy to fuel 7,800 vehicles, or to heat and cool around 1,700 homes annually.

Engaging and partnering with local community volunteers is at the core of Trees Forever's success. Belmond consistently had a core group of willing, dedicated volunteers and leaders.

Another key to the success of our community tree program is education. It's one thing to just hand out trees; it's another to teach how to properly plant and maintain those trees. We can't maximize the potential for energy savings if the homeowner or business owner doesn't know the best places to plant trees for summer cooling and winter warmth.

We also emphasize the use of larger, landscape-sized trees in our programs, as well as native trees and plants. Iowa State University researchers evaluated the survival rate of trees planted through Branching Out, and the result was an astounding 92 percent survival rate. Much of that success is due to the extra time and effort we take to educate people.

With the emerald ash borer approaching Iowa's borders on three sides, we face the imminent threat of losing all of our ash trees. Ash account for an estimated 30 percent of the state's overall tree population.

In addition to the benefits of energy savings, carbon sequestration and storm water reduction, studies show that trees and natural areas help improve our health and children's ability to learn, raise property values and even increase retail sales - the list goes on and on.

Someone once said that the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is today. As we recover from the devastating floods of 2008, we understand the importance and value of reducing storm water runoff into our rivers and watersheds. With high energy costs and concerns about the climate, we have also learned the importance and urgency of managing our energy use and air quality. Trees play a big role in all of those issues.

I invite all Iowans to join Trees Forever. Together, we can continue to make a wonderful, green difference now and for generations to come.

Shannon Ramsay is CEO and founder of Trees Forever, headquartered in Marion. Comments: www.treesforever.org