TreesCharlotte

There's no doubt about it: allergy season is upon us. And it's getting worse each year, as pollen production continues to rise. There's an argument floating around that urban planners are to blame. Cities often don't like to plant fruiting trees and opt for planting male trees, which don't drop messy fruit but instead produce pollen. By this logic, pollen in cities would have nearly doubled. But this isn't the main cause of the pollen increase. Most of the trees we're allergic to aren't strictly "male" or "female," known as dioecious trees. Most allergen trees are monoecious, meaning both the male and female reproductive organs are on the same tree. Common monoecious trees that we're allergic to in Charlotte include beech, birch, cedar, elm, hickory, oak, pecan, pine, and yellow poplar. Common dioecious trees we're allergic to in Charlotte include Eastern red cedar and willows, but these are rarely planted in urban areas and are instead found naturally. So, what's causing horrible allergy seasons? As always, climate change is to blame. Researchers at Climate Central found that as CO2 increases, so does pollen season and pollen production. In the city of Atlanta, pollen season has increased by 33 days from 1970 to 2021-- and is continuing to lengthen as winter days grow warmer. What can we do? While it may seem counter-productive to plant more pollen-producers while you go through boxes of Zyrtec and Kleenex, trees can counteract climate change by cooling temperatures and storing carbon. We need our trees, especially in warming urban climates. ????

Our tree plantings couldn’t be done without your help! Thank you to Patrick Crockett and all of our amazing volunteers we’ve had this season. We have only TWO PLANTINGS LEFT and both are this week! Sign up now to help plant 30 trees at Ascent-Pineville on Wednesday March 26 from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm: https://lnkd.in/e2Hcg9kM. Don’t have weekday availability? Sign up for our last planting at Long Creek Greenway this Saturday, March 29 from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm: https://lnkd.in/ef4kEqUy.

If you live in Charlotte, you live in a forest. An urban forest is comprised of all the trees in a metropolitan area. Urban forests take on roles a normal forest may not: in addition to storing carbon, aerating soil, and producing oxygen, Charlotte's trees provide shade for hot sidewalks, decrease air conditioning costs, reduce toxic runoff from our roadways, provide much-needed wildlife habitats, and filter industrial and automotive pollutants. Urban forests are also unique in that the individual is as great as the whole. A single oak can be an entire playground. A single mulberry tree can provide food for dozens of birds. Each tree in our urban forest is vital. For NC Arbor Day on March 21, help support our forest by supporting our trees. Donate to TreesCharlotte at https://lnkd.in/g94mkUA6 to help grow, diversify, steward, and teach others about our beautiful urban forest.

Last week, our Davidson team members rolled up their sleeves to plant over 130 trees in partnership with TreesCharlotte and the Carolina Farm Trust. Every tree represents cleaner air and a stronger community, and we're proud to be part of this effort to create #sustainablefutures.

We planted 130 trees at Free Spirit Farm last Friday with the help of some of our 2025 planting season partners. This was an especially fitting planting for our Evergreen Planting Partner Coca-Cola Consolidated as all the trees planted were evergreens! While most of our plantings feature upwards of 15 different species to increase biodiversity, we choose trees based on the planting site’s needs. Free Spirit Farms in particular needed protection against wind, making it the perfect candidate for an arborvitae and magnolia screen! These trees will help protect Free Spirit Farm’s future crops throughout the year, as the trees will not lose their leaves in the winter. Thank you to everyone who helped out!

This month for Stories of Impact, we're highlighting another of our amazing nonprofit partners: TreesCharlotte ?? Trees are the unsung heroes of our city. They make our lives healthier and happier and are proven to reduce stress, improve social inequities, increase property values, and lower heating and cooling costs. Since its founding in 2012, TreesCharlotte has planted and distributed 60,556 trees. But as Charlotte expands and grows, so does the need for planting more trees. TreesCharlotte’s planting season takes place from late September through March. TreesCharlotte has just two tree plantings left for this season! Help them plant 56 trees on Thursday March 20 from 10 am - 12 pm at Long Creek Greenway, or plant 36 trees on Wednesday March 26 from 10 am - 12 pm at Ascent-Pineville. They will also have their End of Season TreeAdoption (open to the ENTIRE city!) on Saturday, March 22. Registration for this event is required and opens this Friday March 14 at 10:00 am! WIF members are invited to volunteer at events, which can be found on the TreesCharlotte event calendar: https://lnkd.in/ggGGW9NY

We loved spending the day with TreesCharlotte last Saturday for a very special tree planting event! We helped plant 58 trees to restore the tree canopy that was lost years ago at West Charlotte High School. Our team also had the opportunity to plant 10 trees in honor of the late Michael Jemison, a beloved CleanAIRE NC board member.

For 9 years, Joi Mayo served as the HOA President for her neighborhood. "I was always looking for ways to improve the community," she remembers. "One day the city sent an email asking if residents had open space to plant trees and I thought, yeah. I have this huge hill I can't do anything with." As a result of that email, Joi applied for TreesCharlotte's CommunityWoods program, which helped plant 31 trees in 2020--hence the mask throwback! Over the next year, she watched her neighborhood's trees grow and kept in contact with TreesCharlotte members. When Joi saw a job post to serve as TreesCharlotte's Community Engagement Manager and help connect other neighborhoods with TreesCharlotte's mission, she applied immediately. The rest is history. As TreesCharlotte's Community Engagement Manager, Joi travels to different areas of the city and observes how community members work to improve their neighborhoods. She mans the CommunityWoods program, where TreesCharlotte partners with qualifying communities and organizations to host tree planting events. "It's really inspiring to see the collaboration, innovation, and dedication. These are our unsung heroes who are doing the work to improve their communities for the next generation," she says. "Together we are growing, diversifying, and stewarding Charlotte's iconic urban forest." This year, CommunityWoods is expanding applications to all of Mecklenburg County. If you want more trees in your neighborhood, school, house of faith, athletic/recreation association, nonprofit, corporation, or anywhere in your community, apply by the end of this month at https://lnkd.in/eX8C6tjv.

Stellar lineup today at the SHARE Charlotte Environmental Summit! Appreciating the dedication, purpose, and impact of all the non-profit partners in attendance. Anne Springs Close Greenway Carolina Raptor Center Catawba Lands Conservancy and Carolina Thread Trail Catawba Riverkeeper CleanAIRE NC Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden North Carolina Wildlife Federation Sol Nation Inc Sustain Charlotte TreesCharlotte Wing Haven

A huge thank you to Trammell Crow Residential, one of our Dogwood Level Corporate Sponsors, for helping us plant 95 trees along Long Creek Greenway last week! Sponsors like these are helping add to Charlotte’s beautiful canopy! Want to learn more about our corporate sponsor levels? Visit https://lnkd.in/euYYDYqA and help us create a greener Charlotte. ????