Galewood Neighbors, Inc. - Tree Ambassador Program

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Tree Ambassador Program

WHO WE ARE:

We are a small but mighty group of 4 Galewood Neighbors who love nature and have completed the Tree Ambassador Training and maintained continuous involvement in the program. We all maintain zealous advocacy for the importance of having a healthy and diverse tree canopy in the City of Chicago. We understand and promote the importance to our health and wellness of getting outside in our urban and embracing the natural world, especially while living in our urban environment.

Here's just a small window in how our Tree Ambassadors stay engaged with the natural world in addition to this project:

Tom Drebenstedt, Co-Steward of the Rutherford Sayre Park Natural Area, Interim President of Rutherford Sayre Park Advisory Council, Treasurer of the Galewood Montclare Garden Club, co-lead of Galewood's Openlands Tree Grant in 2022, Openlands Certified TreeKeeper, and avid gardener.

Beth Ranucci, Openlands Certified TreeKeeper, co-lead of Galewood's Openlands Tree Grant in 2022, completing a Masters in Biology with a Conservation focus from Miami University Ohio in conjunction with the Brookfield Zoo, perform pro bono legal work for Openlands, loves walking in the woods, maintaining a serene, shady, native wildflower backyard to enjoy alongside her family and chickens.

Sarah Cunningham, Bachelors in Biology, Openlands Certified TreeKeeper, avid runner, cyclist, and swimmer enjoying the outdoors all over the country.

Janice Grant, Retired human resources professional, always encouraging, motivating, and helping people as well as manage projects. Loves reading, gardening, and craft projects. Lead for Galewood Neighbors' Health and Resource Fair. Joined Tree Ambassador program to learn more about trees, nature, and to be involved with this great community!

We could not successfully manage this program without our amazing Galewood community! The Tree Ambassador Program is supported by a large number of Galewood Neighbors members, some who have completed the Tree Ambassador training and some who just love trees! As a community, we've logged over 900 volunteer hours as part of this initiative. Some special shoutouts to Trista Allgood, John & Leticia Boratto, Claudia Bravo, Jim Cunningham, Chris Hartweg, Mike & Alisa Mundt, Nick Ranucci, Bill Smiljanich, & the Board Members of Galewood Neighbors, Inc.

We also are supported by our community partner organizations like the Chicago Region Tree Initiative, the Morton Arboretum, the City of Chicago Department of Health, the Chicago Park District, Arborist David Kusnierz of SavATree, and Openlands.

WHAT WE DO:

We received a grant for this work, so here's what we had to do:

1. Order 100 trees to be planted in Galewood's parkways by the Forestry Department. We ordered and have planted over 100 trees!! You may have seen our flyers or met us out on the street. If you do not have a tree in your parkway and would like to order one, please email: nature@galewoodneighbors.org.

2. Connect with 250 community members to engage and educate about the beauty, importance, and care of trees. We have connected with far more than 250 community members at the countless events that we've hosted and attended. We've also flyered every house in the neighborhood from 2023-2025 to share information about ordering a tree and the program in general (so that's nearly 5,000 homes!).

3. Provide workshops and events about trees each year to the community. We have hosted numerous tree walks around Galewood and organized events at the Morton Arboretum. Also, we've tabled at various events in Galewood including the Heath & Resource Fair, Galewoodstock, Sayre Language Academy's Math & Science Night, and more. Take a look below at some of the events we've been involved in.

4. Inventory all of the trees that are planted. All of the trees that have been planted can be located on the Canopy Counts Map. You can see the location of each tree, the type of tree, a photo of it, and a link to more information about the species. We encourage you to add your own trees to the map, even if they're not in the parkway.

WHY WE DO IT:

Trees are the lungs of our world. They provide us oxygen, combat the urban heat island effect in our city, provide habitats to our beautiful wildlife, soak up storm water runoff, increase the beauty and value of our properties, and so much more! The Tree Ambassadors already had a love of nature prior to embarking on this adventure, but this grant provided us the opportunity to come together and bring something really cool to Galewood.

We have met with some amazing community members and partners and have thoroughly enjoyed our time meeting with the community and building connections for life. Oh yeah, and we loved getting more trees planted!

HISTORY OF THE PROGRAM:

In 2023, Galewood Neighbors was approached by the Chicago Region Tree Initiative and the City of Chicago Our Roots Program to take part in a pilot program to increase the tree canopy in the City of Chicago. An expansive tree canopy provides our community a number of benefits including those that impact our health, environment, economy, and society.

The program allowed us to apply for a federal grant through the USDA and Galewood Neighbors, Inc. was one of a few community organizations that won the grant!

Over the past two years, in addition to adding more trees, our Tree Ambassadors have been tasked with interacting with the community and providing education on the importance of trees as well as inventorying the trees that have been planted.

ONGOING PROJECTS:

We've had amazing success so far with over 100 trees planted.