Bartlett Tree Experts
To celebrate National Arbor Day, Bartlett Tree Experts gave away more than 50,000 tree seedlings in communities throughout the U.S. as part of the Bartlett Legacy Tree Program.
Celebrating its 11th anniversary this year, the Bartlett Legacy Tree Program has distributed more than 775,000 tree seedlings in communities since the program began in 2014, representing a commitment of 14,000 hours and $2.4 million from Bartlett to improve the urban tree canopy and preserve the environment.
Through the Bartlett Legacy Tree Program, Bartlett’s Certified Arborists in all 190 local offices voluntarily provide outreach in their communities to teach people about the importance of trees while distributing over thousands of tree seedlings each year to students, community groups, and reforestation efforts across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.
Many of the seedlings Bartlett arborists distribute through the program each year are handed out or planted in the spring as part of Arbor Day and Earth Day festivities, events, and activities.
“We are excited to see our Legacy Tree Program bringing people and trees together," says Patrick Franklin, who manages the program as Bartlett's vice president of special operations. "We created the program to make a difference while giving back to our communities and improving the environment.”
With all of Bartlett’s local offices participating, the seedlings were distributed in 42 U.S. states, three Canadian provinces, and numerous locations in the United Kingdom and Dublin, Ireland.
The goals of the program include raising awareness among school children of the benefits of planting trees and helping local communities reverse the increasing deficit of urban and suburban trees lost to development.
Since the inception of the Legacy Tree Program, Bartlett has supported the planting of trees after natural disasters, as well as helping increase the urban tree canopy.
Under the Legacy Tree Program, the tree species are selected for distribution by geographic region with a focus on increasing the local diversity of native tree populations. Some common species being distributed this year include Flowering Dogwood, Eastern Redbud, and Swamp White Oak.