A Message from Leadership

As we refl ect on 2021, it’s truly inspiring to see all that our supporters, volunteers, program participants, and staff accomplished in the pursuit of our mission, as they teamed up to transform lives and landscapes throughout our community. We are thrilled to share the highlights in our 2021 Annual Report.

Our Community Forestry Department joined forces with generous supporters and willing volunteers to make our community a greener, healthier place to live. Together, we added more than 7,000 diverse, well-established trees to our urban forest. Our Learning with Trees™ program brought exciting hands-on environmental learning to fi ve different schools, culminating with planting days where students enjoyed getting their hands dirty digging, watering, and mulching as they re-forested their school grounds.

More than 320 promising young people participated in our Career Pathways programming, despite continuing challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. Together with their crews and Tree Trust staff, participants built the skills for meaningful careers and helped transform lives and landscapes at more than 55 different sites around the Twin Cities metro—removing buckthorn, building retaining walls, planting trees, constructing affordable housing, and much more. Launching our new Branches pre-apprenticeship program, providing an advanced level of training and a clear path to employment in green collar or skilled trade careers, proved to be a special highlight in advancing our programming.

Our social enterprise arm, Landscape Services, grew by bringing on new staff to expand capacity and expertise in landscape construction, property maintenance, and tree care. Landscape Services staff also provided career training for three apprentices through our Registered Arborist Apprenticeship, helping build a pipeline of highly skilled arborists in this high-demand industry.

Even as we celebrate the accomplishments of 2021, we anticipate an even better future in 2022 and beyond: serving more promising young people as they grow green careers, planting even greater numbers of trees, and expanding meaningful volunteer opportunities, all while partnering with our supporters and donors. Together, we all make a difference for good in our community.

Sincerely,