Category: JoinTrees

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. coordinator and certified arborist, has encouraged JoinTrees partners to be creative in their planting projects. The results have been intergenerational events at a variety of sites, including tree plantings at churches, farms, retreat centers, and along the Indiana Toll Road.

In addition to the various planting events, Mennonite Men’s board of directors also approved $8,247.00 for 5 grants to congregations, farms, and environmental education projects to assist them in tree planting projects they’re undertaking this spring and fall.

One of the grants helped finance tree planting at Full Circle Farm in Three Rivers, Michigan, where farm owners Gabe and Bethany Bauman-Baker enlisted the help of students from Bethany Christian School in Goshen, Indiana. Students helped them plant 632 trees to create a fast-growing windbreak between their field and the conventionally farmed fields beside them and increase carbon capture.

‘We have three goals with this campaign to restore God’s earth,’ said Steve Thomas. ‘Doing our part to care for God’s creation, we aim to mitigate global warming, serve climate justice, and sustain biodiversity.’

‘We continue to receive inquiries about how to participate in our campaign,’ said Thomas. ‘People are seeking to join this campaign by offering land to plant, making contributions to fund tree planting, and helping to plant seedlings. We are excited by the strong, positive response across the church.’

To date, 9,151 trees have been planted through the JoinTrees campaign. To learn more about JoinTrees and how you and your community can get involved, visit mennonitemen.org/jointrees.

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 volunteer with the American Chestnut Cooperator’s Foundation (ACCF) who coordinated the planting. ‘However, we had a group of very energetic and determined students who would not be denied the chance to participate!’

The planting was funded in part through a grant from JoinTrees, a campaign launched last fall by Mennonite Men, the men’s organization of Mennonite Church Canada and Mennonite Church USA, to plant one million trees by the year 2030. While some individuals and organizations have funded their own tree planting initiatives as part of JoinTrees, this is the first planting funded by a grant from JoinTrees.

‘This first project with Mennonite Men funding was especially exciting as it was part of an important work of restoring the American Chestnut,’ said Steve Thomas. ‘With this we are not simply planting any tree, but a keystone species in the ecology of God’s creation in eastern hardwood forests.’

The planting is part of a larger initiative of ACCF to reintroduce the American chestnut, a native species once the dominant tree in the Appalachian range, after it became functionally extinct from the American chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica) in the 1920-1940s.

Although the group’s goal had been to plant 300 seedlings, they needed to limit it to 220 seedlings because of weather conditions and restrictions on how many people could participate in the planting due to Covid. Hostetter said that they plan on concluding the planting in September when they will have more favorable weather.

To find out more information about the JoinTrees campaign, visit mennonitemen.org/jointrees. If you, your congregation, or your organization would like to support JoinTrees or get involved, please contact Mennonite Men at mm@mennonitemen.org. Photo courtesy of Loren Hostetter

​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, Mennonite Men’s campaign to plant one million trees by 2030. In total they’ll give 46 bouquets, for a total of 552 trees.

‘This bouquet of trees is truly life-giving!’ said Gretchen Merryman-Lotze. ‘Trees have the remarkable ability to sequester carbon, moderate climate change, and cool the earth. By supporting Mennonite Men’s campaign to plant one million trees by 2030, we take confidence in knowing that our seedlings will be planted in locations where they can be watered and cared for in order to grow, thrive, and heal our planet.’

This project was coordinated by the church’s ‘Green Team’ as an eco-friendly alternative to the more traditional bouquet of cut long-stem roses, which are often grown with harmful pesticides, shipped long distances, and require refrigeration throughout transit. The idea developed after realizing that February 14 falls on a Sunday this year, providing the congregation with a unique opportunity to share their love for others and the planet.

If your congregation or group is interested in creative ways to support JoinTrees, please contact us at mm@mennonitemen.org. If you’d like more information about JoinTrees, you can visit mennonitemen.org/jointrees.