Join us April 21-29 as we celebrate trees

giveaway

In the spirit of community, Speak for the Trees, Boston, is proud to announce a series of events to celebrate trees and all they give us. We hope you can join us either in-person or online to acknowledge, thank, and honor trees. Trees are critical for our well being; they provide us with clean air, connection, cooler temperatures, beauty, character, a feeling of home, perspective, and strong community.

Our events include….

On Friday, April 21 from 1:00-2:00PM, Speak for the Trees and WS Development are individually bagging 1,000 seedlings that will be distributed throughout Boston during ArborWeek. Click here to sign up to bag seedlings.
Kicking off Arbor Week on Saturday, April 22 from 12:00-2:00PM, Speak for the Trees will be hosting a Nature Collaging Event at Fields Corner Library in Dorchester. Sign up here.
Also on Saturday, April 22 from 1:00 – 2:30PM, Speak for the Trees, in partnership with WS Development and L.L. Bean, will be holding an urban walking tour through the Seaport neighborhood. This tour will be led by an L.L. Bean Customer Experience Staffer. Learn more and register for an Urban Walk.
We wrap up an event-filled-Saturday with Judith Foster and Jeff Perrin for a Nature is Nurture Tour through Mass Audubon’s Boston Nature Center and Wildlife Sanctuary from 1:00-3:00pm. Register here.
On Sunday, April 23rd from 9:00AM – 12:00PM, Forest Therapy Guide Tam Willey will lead us in slowing down and awakening our senses during a guided therapeutic experience throughout the Arnold Arboretum. Register and join Tam for forest bathing.
Also on Sunday, April 23rd, Kari Percival, local author and illustrator will be reading her book How to Say Hello to a Worm at Martin’s Park from 1:00-2:30PM. Register here for an incredible reading and signed copy.
Also taking place on Sunday, April 23rd from 1:00-2:00PM will be an afternoon full of PoeTREE with tree-themed poetry readings by Poets Jennifer Barber, Charles Coe, and Deborah Leipziger at the Arnold Arboretum. Register here for an afternoon of nature-related poetry.
On Tuesday, April 25th from 5 pm – 8 pm, Speak for the Trees, in partnership with WS Development and Project Paulie, will host a spring wreath workshop where participants will create their own free wreath. Register here.
Then, on Wednesday, April 26th from 7:30 am – 11:30 am, Speak for the Trees, in partnership with WS Development and the Seaport Transportation Management Association (STMA), will be offering complimentary bike check up. Along with the check up, attendees will also receive a non-GMO packet of herb seeds. Click here to register.
On Wednesday, April 26th from 6:00-7:00pm, Dr. Lucy Hutyra will be giving a talk, “What’s Place Got to Do With it? How Urban and Rural Trees Provide Different Benefits.” Register here to join us at the Boston Public Library.
On Thursday April 27th from 4 pm – 5:30 pm, forager Rob Riman will guide us through an interactive and educational foraging experience in Forthill Neighborhood. Click here to learn about urban foraging with Rob.
Also on Thursday, April 27th from 6 pm – 7 pm, Mwalim will be sharing about the traditional Indigenous perspectives on trees in a talk named “A Part of Us: Trees and Our World.” Register here to learn more.
For our final event, Speak for the Trees is partnering The American City Coalition at Savior the Square for a tree giveaway on Saturday April 29th from 10:00am-2:00pm. Register here to reserve your tree.

Yes, we’re also giving away free trees and seedlings

With support and in partnership with Delta Airlines Advisors, on Saturday, April 29th from 10:00 am -2:00 pm, we’re back at Nubian Square in Roxbury for Savor the Square. We will be giving away 50 free trees for community members to plant at their homes. Sign up for your free sapling in Roxbury today.

We’re also collaborating with community partners across the city for our free seedling giveaways. Find one near you.

An Acknowledgement

As we celebrate trees, we acknowledge that the celebration and reverence of trees did not begin in 1872 with white settlers creating a holiday. The Indigenous people of what is now Boston, Massachusetts, have long celebrated the power and importance of trees and stewarded this land, in part through trees, for hundreds of generations. We have much to learn from the deep knowledge still held within these communities. As we enter a week of national celebration of trees, we extend gratitude for the the opportunity to work and meet on this sacred land. We extend our respect to citizens of these Nations – the Massachusett, the Wampanoag, and Nipmuc Peoples – and their ancestors who have lived here for over five hundred generations, and to all Indigenous people. We also affirm that this acknowledgement is insufficient. It does not undo the harm that has been done and continues to be perpetrated now against Indigenous people, their land, and their water. Our work is committed, in part, to dismantle the systems and heal the pain from this history. In whatever small part, we hope that our work together to celebrate trees can assist in this process.

What is Arbor Day?

When settlers first moved into the Nebraska Territory, the lack of trees was significant and surprising to them. In response, the very first Arbor Day was celebrated on April 10th, 1872 with over 1 million trees planted. By 1920, 45 states were celebrating Arbor Day, and today Arbor Day is celebrated in all 50 states. A unique, relevant, and emboldening holiday, Arbor Day is a statement of our hope and commitment to our collective future. And, just like 150 years ago, it remains a time to gather together to celebrate trees – and the larger environment – for their importance.