Partnerships Help Communities Plant 1100 Large Bare Root Trees

Imagine a program that provides communities with large trees to plant at little to no cost, while eliminating the need for heavy machinery.  That is exactly what a partnership between TreePennsylvania, Penn State Extension and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources has been successfully achieving.  The partnership of these organizations has allowed this initiative to grow and spread across the state and assist communities as they are attempting to increase tree canopy cover.

Students from Wilkes-Barre Area Career & Technical Center Planting Bare Root Trees in a Downtown Tree Pit.

TreePennsylvania, a non-profit organization that includes an advisory council providing guidance to the statewide urban forestry program has been able to provide assistance to communities through a mini grant program. In 2020, a Bare Root Tree Program mini grant was launched to provide communities across the state with up to twenty 1.5 inch caliper (trunk diameter at the base) bare root trees that can be planted in parks, along streets or streams, or in other public spaces. The mini grant has been popular with communities because there is a simple application process. Because the program delivers trees directly to communities, they don’t need to expend municipal funds upfront and then wait for reimbursement. TreePennsylvania orders, pays for, and provides trees to communities without the need for long contracts or complicated reimbursement procedures.

Prior to shipping the trees, Penn State Extension Urban Foresters and DCNR Service Foresters work closely with grant recipient communities to develop planting plans, select appropriate species for the sites, and prepare for the delivery and planting. This partnership also works closely to coordinate the delivery of the large bare root trees to strategic locations throughout the state where communities meet on the delivery date to help with the unloading of trees. By grouping the orders and combining them into delivery drop sites, shipping cost is reduced and communities all work together to obtain their trees and transport them back to their planting locations. Good planning and communications between TreePensylvania, Penn State Extension, DCNR Forestry and the communities is critical to ensure that everyone’s trees are shipped on the designated truck (there are 3 trucks delivering over 3 days) to the correct location and picked up and planted in a timely manner. Each order is checked as the trees are unloaded by volunteers to ensure all the correct trees are distributed to the correct community.

Unloaded Bare Root Trees Delivered to a Drop Site

 Volunteers Unloading a Tractor Trailer Load of Large Bare Root Trees

The article Communities Save Money Planting Large Bare Root Trees, provides more detail about large caliper bare root tree planting techniques and the multiple benefits of transplanting trees without a container or large rootball. A recently presented webinar, Large Bare Root Trees: Cost Effective and Volunteer Friendly, delves into the topic of planting large caliper bare root trees as well combining community orders to achieve cost savings, while enabling the use of community volunteers in planting trees.

In the fall of 2021, TreePennsylvania received 41 preliminary applications and fully funded 39 community plantings for a total of 650 trees valued at approximately $60,000. An additional 18 communities ordered bare root trees through the initiative utilizing their own funding, bringing the total number of delivered trees to 1100. In southeastern Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society coordinated a similar program, ordering 1350 large bare root trees for communities in the Philadelphia metro area.

Since TreePennsylvania established the Bare Root Mini-Grant in 2020, the program has funded and provided 1443 large bare root trees to communities across the state. The average cost per tree is $90.62, making this tree planting grants program cost-effective, while the lightweight bare root tree stock makes the program volunteer-friendly. In a recent survey of participating communities, there was an overwhelming positive response, with comments including:

• "It enables small communities with limited funding to plant more trees"
• "Great teamwork, helpful and very easy process. Look forward to doing again!"
• "I am glad the bare root delivery has gone statewide. The affordability of tree size and the weight make planting a community event. Trees need to be owned by the community, not just a city worker activity."
• "The process is quite easy and not intimidating at all, with a lot of welcomed support from TreeVitalize/DCNR, it makes the whole experience positive, the trees we receive are always in great shape and a very nice size, we have not lost one tree in our last two plantings and they are all thriving!"

TreePennsylvania recently applied for additional funding to continue and expand the Bare Root Mini Grant program which has seen a steady increase in new communities applying for tree plantings.  For more information about the grant visit the TreePennsylvania website or email grants@treepennsylvania.org .