On Saturday, October 16, Tree Trust gave 46 community volunteers the tools and training they needed to plant 80 trees in Inver Grove Height’s Rich Valley Athletic Complex as part of Tree Trust’s Green Futures initiative. Mayor George Tourville was present to thank volunteers and educate attendees about Inver Grove Heights’ forestry efforts.
Rich Valley Athletic Complex, a 75-acre park, serves as a major sports complex for Inver Grove Height’s 30,000 residents. Of the park's 700 trees, 100 are ash trees that are threatened by the recent arrival of emerald ash borer to the Twin Cities metro area. This planting pre-forested the park and prevented the loss of shade, wind breaks and other benefits trees bring to the park. Trees planted included Kentucky coffee, hackberry, gingko,
This Athletic Complex was chosen as a Tree Trust - Green Futures planting site through a competitive proposal process. The City of Inver Grove Heights submitted an application to Tree Trust that demonstrated the financial and environmental need for trees in the park and the city’s commitment to ensuring the trees’ long-term survival.
This Tree Trust - Green Futures planting was made possible by individual donations, a matching grant from a local family foundation, and financial contributions from HealthPartners and TruStone Financial.
The October 16 planting started at 9 a.m. and ended around noon. The event began with Mayor George Tourville talking briefly about how the emerald ash borer has affected the city’s parks and what the city is doing to restore and protect their parks. Brian Swoboda, Inver Grove Heights City Forester, also was in attendance and thanked volunteers for their contributions to the city’s efforts. Before the planting began volunteers were given a brief training to teach them how to plant trees the correct way. Volunteers also learned about the importance of trees to the health and vitality of the community. Trees planted included Kentucky coffee, hackberry, gingko, red maple and more.
Tree Trust’s Community Forestry program helps people connect with each other and the natural world. Through tree planting events, municipal tree distributions and neighborhood revitalization projects, citizens are empowered to take an active role in improving the local environment and learn that the can make a difference.