October 2022

"Its [science’s] goal is to find out how the world works,

to seek what regularities there may be,

to penetrate to the connections of things

—from subatomic particles, which may be the constituents of all matter, to living organisms, the human social community,

and thence to the cosmos as a whole."

--Carl Sagan

Annual appeal 2022

Do you enjoy trees and their beauty? Trees provide us with so much that we often forget about how important they are to our everyday lives. From the air we breathe, to the shade we seek, the foods that we eat, to the vibrant colors they dazzle us with each year makes trees just as important as people. For without them we would not exist.

As a Vice President for the F.A. Bartlett Tree Expert Company and a member of the TREE Fund Board of Trustees, my job brings me great joy and honor to work with trees every day, and continually learn what we can do to help them and better protect them against threats. Ultimately, the best way to achieve this is through ongoing research and education.

That’s why I’m writing this. The TREE Fund is launching its annual year-end appeal and I am asking you to please consider giving.

The TREE Fund is an effective nonprofit business focused on helping trees, and educating people about the importance of trees. We are exploring and sharing the science of how trees contribute to the lives of people, communities, economies, and the environment. To date, more than $5.1 million has been given in research grants and scholarships since 2002. This is a testament to our mission of supporting the discovery and dissemination of new knowledge in the fields of arboriculture and urban forestry.

In addition to funding scientific research related to tree care urban forestry, the TREE Fund also supports student scholarships in this area and environmental educational programs for children and adults.

A recent study found that every $1 we give acts as seed money and attracts an average of another $2.63 being applied towards research and education.

That’s where you come in. Any support we receive, no matter how small, makes a big difference! With news headlines constantly popping up these days about climate change, deforestation, wildfires, and new exotic pests and diseases on the rise, we need to do all that we can to help protect our trees.

Please, watch for and use the coming envelope and reply card--or visit our website today--and help us continue our important mission.

Thank you,

Patrick Franklin  

Vice President, Bartlett Tree Experts

Other ways to support the TREE Fund.

1. This collection of autumn poetry--published just this month!-- by TREE Fund President and CEO Russell King is available on Amazon. Sales support the TREE Fund.  
2. Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice—the TREE Fund, of course! Support the TREE Fund by starting your shopping at smile.amazon.com
3. When you make payments through PayPal, you can choose to donate to the TREE Fund. PayPal does not charge a fee for the service, but does provide donation and donor reports, issue receipts, and make grants to the TREE Fund every month. If you have a PayPal account, you can go here to make the TREE Fund your charity of choice.
4. Gifts for yourself and others, proudly displaying the TREE Fund logo, can be found on Zazzle.

Science makes the difference

By Russell King

TREE Fund president & CEO

So many worthy causes are served by the nonprofits seeking your donation that it can be tough to discern which to support. The TREE Fund is a worthy nonprofit, too, but it stands apart from the crowd. The TREE Fund is unique in its focus on tree science. The research funded by our grants yield information that is new and useful, which is another way the TREE Fund stands apart from the crowd. 

Scientific research empowers us to better understand our complex and changing world. Without it, we’d be stuck relying on intuition, other people’s authority (not expertise), and luck. Because science is evidence-based--grounded in objective, tangible, empirical evidence that can be repeatedly tested--it frees us from assumptions, biases, superstitions, and opinions and gives us objective, factual information that we can use.

Science is a way of thinking and exploring. It's our way of not fooling ourselves. It's our key to survival, comfort, and prosperity. It's also a doorway to breathtaking beauty, awe-inspiring wonder, profound meanings.

In general terms, the science supported by the TREE Fund is applied science that improves the ways we manage and use forest and related resources to meet current and future needs of expanding populations, and improve their standard of living, while protecting the forest resource and the environment. Tree science makes the work of arboriculture safer, more effective, more efficient, and more profitable, and makes the benefits of trees more accessible to us, our communities, our economy, and our planet. Among the uses of tree science are: reducing flood risks, fighting pests, identifying priorities for biodiversity and conservation, alleviating pollution, and combating climate change. And, yes, the science helps us nurture the renewable resource that builds the essentials of our lives, like our homes and furniture.  

In short, tree science research is applied to economic development, human well-being, and protection of the environment. But before these applications can be made, researchers must study the underlying science that makes the applications possible. That research takes time, effort, and money. That’s why science deserves, and the TREE Fund depends on, your commitment of support.

Last month, the Tour des Trees riders finished their journey at the Arbor Day Farm, where we met Dan Lambe, the Arbor Day Foundation’s executive director. In his warm remarks to the group, he said he saw our two organizations as I do: complementary—not competing--nonprofits. The TREE Fund’s efforts to nurture scientific research helps the Arbor Day Foundation’s efforts to plant and grow more and healthier trees. He then demonstrated his appreciation of the TREE Fund’s mission by pledging a $10,000 donation over and above the partnership he’d already established in supporting the tour.

Such support from outside the tree care industry echoes the message of the support the industry has provided over the past 20 years: The TREE Fund’s mission of tree science is vibrant and vital. Over those two decades, the TREE Fund has granted more than $5.1 million to tree scientific research, and on average every one of those dollars attracted another $2.63 to the research.

Our annual year-end fundraising appeal begins this month. Please give to keep the TREE Fund strong and our mission alive in the years to come. Please support the science that supports the trees that support us all.

The New Will Nutter Memorial Scholarship opens January 15

The purpose of this one-year, $5,000 scholarship is to support the utility forestry and arboriculture industry by helping college students interested in those fields achieve high academic goals without accumulating burdensome debt. Up to $500 of the scholarship can be used for books and supplies. 

Applications accepted January 15 to March 15, 2023.

Applicants must be high school seniors entering college or community college, or returning college students seeking a first bachelor’s degree or associate’s degree while attending an accredited US college or university. All applicants must have a genuine interest in the utility forestry or arboriculture industry, which they will express in an application letter.

Criteria:

1. Genuine interest in pursuing a career in the utility forestry/arboriculture industry.
2. Entering or returning student at an accredited undergraduate institution in the United States
3. Minimum 3.0 GPA

Tour des Trees: 

Looking forward to next year!

Our riders had a great time at this year's Tour des Trees. Here are just a couple of comments, gleaned from the post-ride survey, about this year's ride:

• "The tour was an excellent environment to really get to know others in different parts of the tree care industry, and it was also a very challenging adventure!"
• "It was amazing. I like what the TREE Fund does, I love riding my bike, and I loved that it was challenging and brought a group of riders together with that bond and the TREE Fund bond."
• "Very well organized. I was so impressed. Our group had a blast and we're just so appreciative of the opportunity to ride with you all!"

Thank you to everyone that supported the event this year. We look forward to seeing even more of you in Reno/ Lake Tahoe in 2023! Dates and information will be released this winter. 

Nominations open

for the TREE Fund Board of Trustees

Several seats on the TREE Fund Board of Trustees will be open for election at the December board meeting. If you're interested--or know someone who would be a great trustee--please let us know. 

Lead Donors

We are deeply grateful to the following people and organizations who contributed $2,500 or more to the TREE Fund in September 2022:

Indiana Arborist Association

Arbor Day Foundation

Illinois Arborist Association, Inc.

Jeffrey L. and Therese L. Edgar

Mark Alan Hilliard

Michael R. and Karen Root Grimm

Stanley Tree Service

Thomas Wolf

West Coast Arborists

Western Chapter ISA

See the full list of lead donors who make our vital tree research and education work possible on our website.

TREE Fund essentials

If you've ever wanted to learn more about the TREE Fund, you'll want to visit our website. It's a treasure chest of good information. Here are links to key documents:

• Who is on the TREE Fund Board of Trustees?
• Annual report 2021
• External assessment of the TREE Fund impacts and outcomes
• Strategic Plan 2021-2024
• Research grant opportunities
• Scholarship opportunities
• Research archive
• Newsletter archive
• Bylaws
• How can I help?
• I have questions. Who has answers?

Free Webinars for 2022

The TREE Fund is proud to partner with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System to bring you free education offerings. We are now able to accommodate up to 3,000 participants! 

Non-invasive tree root detection: What is the state of the art?

Tuesday, Nov. 1 at noon (Central Time)

Andrew Millward, PhD, and Justin Miron, PhD student, Ryerson University

Engaging underserved populations in community

tree management activities

Tuesday, Dec. 6 at noon (Central Time)

Jason Gordon, PhD, University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc.

The TREE Fund’s 1-hour webinars are free and offer 1.0 CEU credit for live broadcasts from the International Society of Arboriculture and the Society of American Foresters. Registration information becomes available on our website approximately one month before each webinar date. 

Missed a webinar? Watch it anytime on our website.

CEU Credit for Recorded Webinar

TREE Fund now offers ISA CEU credits for one recorded webinar: "Loading of a Tie-in Point While Climbing." If you missed this webinar, you can now watch the recording and earn ISA CEU credits by completing a 20 question quiz with 80% accuracy. Learn more on our website.

TREE Fund Achieves

Highest Rating

For the third consecutive year, the TREE Fund has reached Guidestar/Candid's highest level of achievement for nonprofit transparency--the platinum award. GuideStar is the world's largest and most authoritative source of information on nonprofit organizations. Major donors tend to look to GuideStar/Candid as the “seal of approval” before making donations.