The Alliance is excited to partner with the Interfaith Partners for the Chesapeake Bay to plant trees with dozens of congregations across Maryland.

Our goal is to plant over 10,000 trees across 50 acres of various congregations’ property! This ambitious program will offer congregations the following:

  • Educational workshops on the importance of tree planting in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed
  • Hands-on training for tree planting and maintenance
  • Spiritual workshops to explore the symbolism of stewardship and water in our faith traditions,
  • Crew leaders to guide the congregations’ volunteers on the planting day
  • And, of course, the trees!

This program fits nicely into the Alliance’s mission of reaching out to all those who have a stake in the health and improvement of the Chesapeake Bay. By reaching out to congregations, we are tapping into a rarely utilized source for engaging individuals in environmental stewardship as well as planting acreage.[imageframe link=”https://www.flickr.com/photos/29388462@N06/23225422080/” ] Forests are the single best way to effectively reduce stormwater quantity and improve quality while reducing erosion, providing shade, and providing habitat for wildlife.The bulk of the plantings will occur in the spring and fall of 2014. The Alliance will be providing trees, technical support and leadership at the planting. Funding for the program is through the Maryland DNR Governor’s Stream Restoration Challenge grant.

Several congregations are already enrolled, though we are still accepting congregations to increase the number of trees and acres planted. If your congregation would like to enroll in this program, please contact Jodi Rose at jodi@interfaithchesapeake.org (410-609-6852) or Dan Brellis at dbrellis@allianceforthebay.org (443-949-0575).

This is an excellent opportunity to bring to your congregation during the weeks leading up to Earth Day 2014. Need help having the conversation in your congregation about bring this program home? We can help with that! Contact us!