Native tree planting in Northeast Ohio
Roots of
Tomorrow
A youth-led nonprofit planting native trees and bringing forests back in Northeast Ohio.
*At maturity
In partnership with
Holden Forests & Gardens
With guidance from
ODNR Service Foresters
Fiscally sponsored by
The Hack Foundation
Covered by
Geauga County Maple Leaf ↗We're a 501(c)(3) student-led nonprofit based in Northeast Ohio. We plant native trees across Geauga, Lorain, Cuyahoga, and Ashtabula counties to bring back the forests that used to grow there.
Meet Roots of Tomorrow.
Watch on YouTube ↗Music: “VHS Heroes” by Punch Deck, CC BY 3.0.
Why we plant
The forests near home are thinning out.
Across our corner of Ohio, woodlots are being cleared, fields sit bare, and the native trees that once held the soil and cooled the summers are disappearing faster than they're coming back. The wildlife that depends on them goes with them.
You can see it from the road, and it's something a group of students with shovels can actually help fix. That's why we started.
What we do
Native trees, in the ground, by students.
We work directly with local landowners to turn unused acres into young native forests. That means matching the right species to the land, planting them, and looking after them as they take hold. Every project is run by students, with guidance from professional foresters.
Over the years those acres fill back in with trees, and the birds and animals that left start coming back.
Why trees
Trees take carbon back out of the air.
Burning fuel puts carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, where it traps heat and warms the climate. A growing tree pulls that carbon back out and stores it in its wood for as long as it stands.
Emissions
Canopy
Past Events
Planting days across Northeast Ohio.
From the landowners
In their words.
Out of the 2,110 trees and shrubs they planted, 2,093 survived. This is remarkable due to the poor summer weather conditions and the fact that they did the job correctly.
“When these kids showed up, I thought, ‘Oh no!’ But the forester worked with them before. Once they get going, they go!”
“I reached out and, without hesitation, the needed volunteers were mobilized to help us keep our planting on track.”
Beyond Northeast Ohio
It started here. Now it's in seven states.
High schoolers in other states now run Roots of Tomorrow chapters of their own, planting trees or teaching in their towns. We help each one with funding and coverage under our 501(c)(3).
- Chapters
- 9
- States
- 7
