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Plant Trees Digital Campaign

Plant trees for a greener, healthier, more equitable Chicago region.

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The Chicago region has lost more than 13 million trees in recent years, and we need residents to help restore the crucial benefits lost with these trees.

The Plant Trees Digital Campaign was designed to inspire homeowners to plant and care for trees and provide them with the resources they need.

Below are useful tips and resources on the scientifically proven benefits of trees, how to plant a tree, and how to care for your new tree. You can also search all of CRTI’s resources through our resource library.

The Benefits of Trees

Trees do amazing things for our health and comfort. Trees clean the air and water, help manage stormwater, help cool and save energy, improve property values, create habitat for wildlife, and provide significant social and health benefits. In short, trees improve quality of life.

Want to learn more? Here are a few resources that discuss the benefits of trees, supported by science.

Benefits of Trees and Urban Forests: A Research List

The Scientific Benefits of Trees: A Literature Review

University of Washington, Livable Cities: Green Health

 

How to Plant Trees

If you want help planting a tree, CRTI can connect you with professionals who can provide advice or assistance. If you want to do it yourself, there are many resources available to guide you from start to finish, including The Morton Arboretum’s Horticulture Care, Plant Clinic and YouTube Videos.

 

5 Steps to Planting a Tree

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  • The best way to ensure a long-lived tree is to plant one that is adapted to your existing site conditions. Check out this list of considerations compiled by the University of Illinois Extension.

  • Consider planting a native, resilient tree. The Morton Arboretum’s Northern Illinois Tree Selector is great for identifying the right tree for your site, whether your focus is native trees, street trees, evergreens, fall color, or other exciting possibilities. Large, shady trees planted in the right place can help cool your home and reduce energy costs.

  • You can use this online resource from the Illinois Green Industry Association to search for garden centers near you. You can also search for other professionals for help.

  • View The Morton Arboretum’s guide to planting trees.

  • Proper care, including necessary watering and mulching, is especially important in the establishment phase.

How to Care for Trees

Here are several resources that will help you turn your new sapling into a strong, resilient adult tree.

Caring for Trees with Openlands

Choosing an Arborist

Cómo Podar Árboles

How to Not Kill Your Tree

Illinois Green Industry Association, Tree Care Articles

Mulching Trees and Shrubs

The Morton Arboretum, Plant Clinic

We all can play a role in inspiring people to care about trees.

You, as a CRTI partner, are ideally positioned to raise public awareness and inspire people to take action for trees at local and regional levels.

The Plant Trees Digital Campaign was created as a collaborative campaign designed to reach a broad public audience with messages about how trees provide critical benefits for our quality of life. Knowledge about these important benefits will help inspire homeowners and community members to take action, and resources from our wide range of partners will help them successfully plant and care for trees for the long term.

Our collective participation in the Plant Trees Digital Campaign is essential to reach public audiences on a broad regional scale.

Please consider incorporating the Plant Trees digital campaign’s unique graphics into your communications, such as social media, emails, and blogs. CRTI created a digital toolkit for  partners with instructions, a link to the images, suggested social media messages, and other useful information.

Thank you for being part of this effort to expand awareness with these important messages.

How to Participate

  1. Download and review the digital campaign toolkit.
  2. Download the digital graphics.
  3. Add your logo to the graphics, if desired. Instructions are provided in the toolkit.
  4. Post the graphics and messages on social media, blogs, your website, emails, and more. You can link to this page to provide your audience with additional information.

Help spread the word and plant more trees!

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