JoinTrees Stories

​Our JoinTrees campaign targets climate change, an existential threat to life on our planet. By increasing tree and forest cover, one of our goals with tree planting is to help mitigate global warming. Does “existential threat to life” overstate the problem? Not according to what is happening on our planet. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate…

​ Collaboration among organizations brought energy and encouragement to potentially challenging ecological work on the Mennonite Central Committee campus in Akron, PA. MCC partnered with Mennonite Men and the nonprofit Let’s Go 1-2-3 for a creation care event in mid-November. A group of 20 people gathered to learn from two experts on the topic of…

​ We continue to receive inspiring tree-planting proposals from Mennonite communities worldwide. Recently, groups in Indonesia and Kenya submitted plans to address the climate challenges facing their regions. Before we can fund these, however, we must first complete our current projects in Angola, DR Congo, and this year’s U.S. project in Orrville, Ohio. The Ohio…

​ I wonder about this piece of land. What was it like before the European’s brought the axe and plow to alter forever the landscape of what was. Located in a transitional region between the eastern woodlands and the sweeping western prairies, was it densely wooded with maples, oaks and elm, or an open space…

​Back in March of 2025, I took Amtrak to visit parts of Western Oregon as a Mennonite Men representative. I wanted to build connection and witness what God is up to in the Pacific Northwest. One of the unifying experiences of the Northwest: trees! The train took me through Glacier National Park where snow still…

​ In February I spent a week doing prayerful accompaniment at Oak Flat (Chi’Chil Bildagoteel) in Arizona, sacred land of the Western Apache. Sarah Augustine and the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery encouraged Mennonite Men to pursue training to accompany Apache Stronghold as they advocate for the protection of Oak Flat and their…

​Growing up I had been provided opportunities to play and work outdoors in forested settings. Whether the oak-hickory forests of southern Michigan where my parents owned a cottage, or the forested slopes of the Four Corners Region of the Southwest where my family resided several times during my adolescent years. The latter experiences shaped my…

​ Many of us in North America do not rely on wood for cooking or shade trees for cooling. In contrast, millions in the Global South depend on trees for life-saving shade, livestock fodder, cooking fuel, and building materials. As deforestation continues worldwide, people and the environment suffer. Mennonite Men is committed to addressing deforestation…

​ Forestry runs in my family. As a second-generation forester in Kansas, my father served as an Extension forester at the Fort Hays Experiment Station. Dad helped farmers plant and care for windbreaks. He worked with towns and communities when Dutch elm disease arrived in ’57 killing thousands of American elms. My spouse Melissa Atchison…

​ In the last decades, deforestation, monoculture, and large corporate agriculture interests have devastated native landscapes and dried up watersheds for local small-scale farmers in Tlaxcala, Mexico. Maguey, a traditional feature of Mexican landscapes, has been cleared from ecosystems, seriously affecting local biodiversity. In response to this, the Vicente Guerrero group is supporting communities in…

​ In the spring of 2023, my spouse Anna Ruth Hershberger and I planted 6500 trees on the north side of Goshen Indiana. A JoinTrees grant from Mennonite Men helped with purchasing and planting these native seedlings. After our tree planting it did not rain for 3 weeks and the temperature hit 90 degrees many…

​ As homeowner Wilford Miller watched a tree-planting ceremony in the yard of his home built by Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) volunteers, his smile said it all. Miller, a resident of the town of Iowa, Louisiana, had spent month after month recovering from flooding that struck his home and ruined his property. In February, along…

Reba Place Fellowship (Evanston, IL), an intentional Christian Community in the Anabaptist tradition, has been sharing life and finances since 1957. Expenses such as utilities, fuel, public transportation are paid from our ‘common purse.’ These expenses are paid or reimbursed from a central bookkeeping office. While sharing our expenses, members in recent years have been…

​ Peggy and Jeff Boshart live on Peace of Eden Farm, located west of Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. Glacial drumlins accentuate the landscape. The poorest soils in the area are not very suitable for crop production and are often covered with oak, hickory, and cherry woodlots. Peggy’s family purchased this farm when she was in middle…

​ On Oct. 22, 2022, EPIC, the Ecumenical Project for International Cooperation, Inc., received $20,000 from Mennonite Men to facilitate the planting of 20,000 trees by the Baja Verapaz Sustainable Agriculture and Health Education Program. Program staff expects to greatly exceed planting expectations with up to 34,248 trees planted this grant year. The exact number…

​This piece originally appeared at www.mennonitemission.net on August 30, 2023. In early August 2023, Q’eqchi’ Bezaleel Mennonite Educational Center students and Iglesia Nacional Evangélica Menonita Guatemalteca (INEMGUA, National Evangelical Mennonite Church of Guatemala) church leaders planted 367 Hass avocado (Persea americana) trees at the education center in San Juan Chamelco, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. Funds to…

​Green burials, planting trees draw congregation near to natural cycles of life, death (Charity Shenk plays viola as guests await the arrival of Priscilla Ziegler’s immediate family for the graveside service in the cemetery on March 29 at Akron Mennonite Church in Pennsylvania. — Jim Shenk) On March 29, we gathered for a graveside service…

​Viewrail’s commitment to sustainability goes far deeper than a few strategic initiatives. It’s the way they do business, and it’s woven into the how and why of everything they do. Everything was saved and reused on the farm where Viewrail’s founder and CEO, Len Morris, grew up. From the old boards they would pull nails…

​ In June 2022, Everence joined the growing trend of repurposing unused property space by planting native trees, shrubs and grasses on three areas of its corporate headquarters property in Goshen, Indiana. About 170 trees, including hickory, redbud, oak, black gum, sugar maple, tulip poplar and dogwood were planted in partnership with Mennonite Men and…

​ Not everyone reading this article lives in a place filled with forests or has an affinity for appreciating trees. For those living on the open plains, in the desert, parts of many cities, and on wind-swept islands, trees may feel out of place. This may be true for you. Regardless of whether trees are…

​ At its semi-annual meeting, the board of Mennonite Men approved $121,000 for eleven grants to support tree-planting projects. Among those receiving grants are two congregations in the U.S.: Blooming Glen (PA) and Harrisonburg (VA) Mennonite Churches. Both projects will reforest areas of these congregational properties. Nine grants were awarded to Mennonite community projects outside…

​To promote creation care and climate action this spring, we invite your congregation to use these worship resources focusing on trees of life. This is part of our JoinTrees campaign to plant one million trees to help restore God’s Earth. The first and last chapters of the Bible feature the “tree of life” as a…

​An unfolding story, made possible with the vision and support of many, including camp staff Jonathan Fridley and Amy Huser. The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now. – Chinese proverb . . . and the leaves of the trees are for the healing of the…

​This article originally appeared in Anabaptist World, August 26, 2022 On Good Friday, congregants and friends of Berkey Avenue Mennonite Fellowship in Goshen, Ind., began planting trees on an acre of land behind the church building. Bare-root seedlings, not more than 2 years old, were placed in the soil. Each vulnerable tree touched a person…

This article first appeared in the August 26, 2022 issue of Anabaptist World.​ To cool the planet, plant a tree. Together we can plant a million. As a child, I loved being in nature. While I don’t recall what I noticed one day, I remember feeling worried. I wrote a message, placed it in a…

​ An idea germinated within our congregation when we received a newsletter from Mennonite Men highlighting their JoinTrees campaign with a goal of planting 1 million trees by 2030. That spring challenge came about the same time that our congregation began our annual search for someone to mow our 1.5 acres consisting of mostly weeds.…

​Don Antonio and Doña Hermelinda are farmers from the village of Patzocon, in Baja Verapaz, Guatemala. Antonio, 45 years old, and his wife Hermelinda, 37 years old, have created a farm` growing a wide diversity of crops which gives them food for their daily consumption. They are the father and mother of 5 children for…

​JoinTrees has formed a partnership with the Guatemalan non-profit FUNDAMARCOS, legalized 1996. The Baja Verapaz Sustainable Agriculture and Health Education Program of FUNDAMARCOS has taken on the commitment to plant 20,000 forest trees in cooperation with Mennonite Men-JoinTrees. Because of this program’s excellent track record of working in reforestation, a regional government nursery will provide…

​The JoinTrees project of Taftsville Chapel Mennonite Fellowship On May 7th, Green Up Day Vermont, members of Taftsville Chapel Mennonite Fellowship in Taftsville, Vermont turned out for a tree planting project on church grounds, transforming lawn into an edible forest garden. Thirty fruit and nut trees and shrubs were planted on this initial work day…

​ The Bible begins and ends by featuring trees of life and reveals the essential place trees inhabit on the earth and their roles, both in the ecosystems of God’s creation and in the lives of its people. Jewish teachings carry on this theme. A Jewish midrash, or proverb, states that after God made the…

​ The upcoming Mennonite Men Eco-excursion will visit and work in the Zena forest in June, 2022. Details about the trip can be found at mennomen.live/oregon. The story of the Zena forest began in 1984 with the purchase of 400 acres of forestland in Oregon’s Willamette Valley by the German forest owning family for whom…

​ The Bible begins and ends by featuring trees of life and reveals the essential place trees inhabit on the earth and their roles, both in the ecosystems of God’s creation and in the spiritual lives of its people. Jewish teachings carry on this theme. A Jewish midrash, or proverb, states that after God made…

​Leadership from 18 Anabaptist organizations in the United States and Canada convened at the Anabaptist Collaboration on Climate Change (ACCC) on Jan. 26 and 27 to address what many consider a moral emergency. Those gathered drafted a statement that was later signed by the majority of the participating organizations: ‘As organizations founded on Christian faith…

​In early October, EMU students helped to complete the reintroduction of 200 American Chestnut seedlings on 11 sites in Rockingham County, Virginia. The project, led by Loren Hostetter, a volunteer with the American Chestnut Cooperator’s Foundation (ACCF), has been working to reintroduce the tree to its historical habitat and to educate the public about the…

​On two Saturdays in November, volunteers gathered at Landisville Mennonite Church to convert 3.65 acres from farmland into forest and meadow as part of the congregation’s efforts to improve water quality, expand pollinator and wildlife habitat, and address climate change. On November 6, over 80 volunteers planted meadow seed on 1.25 acres, and the following…

​On two Saturdays in November, volunteers gathered at Landisville Mennonite Church to convert 3.65 acres from farmland into forest and meadow as part of the congregation’s efforts to improve water quality, expand pollinator and wildlife habitat, and address climate change. On November 6, over 80 volunteers planted meadow seed on 1.25 acres, and the following…

This spring Anabaptist communities have been enthusiastically planting trees, with over 2,250 trees planted in April alone. Congregations, farmers, men’s groups, and schools have partnered with Mennonite Men to plant trees as part of Mennonite Men’s campaign, JoinTrees, with the goal of planting one million trees by the year 2030. Steve Thomas, Mennonite Men U.S.…

On February 27, a group of students from Eastern Mennonite High School braved wintery conditions to plant 220 seedlings of the American chestnut tree. ‘We had forecasts of inclement weather, which included up to an inch of freezing rain and ice. It created a lot of challenges to our planting plans,’ said Loren Hostetter a…

​This Valentine’s Day, members of Ambler Mennonite Church in Ambler, Pennsylvania are surprising their loved ones with a ‘green’ Valentine’s Day Care Package. Inside, recipients will receive a ‘bouquet of trees,’ in which one dozen tree seedlings were donated for planting in their honor. The congregation is doing this as a way of supporting JoinTrees,…