Tree planting
Put native trees in the ground.
Find land that needs trees, get native seedlings into it, and bring people out to help plant them. It's what we've done in Northeast Ohio from the start, so we can walk you through all of it.
Chapters
Start a chapter where you live.
Roots of Tomorrow started with students in Northeast Ohio who wanted more trees in the woods near them. It works anywhere someone is willing to start it.
What a chapter is
A student-led group planting and teaching in its own town.
A chapter runs its own events under the Roots of Tomorrow name. You find the people and the place. We help with the parts that are hard to figure out on your own, like the paperwork and getting seedlings.
In practice, that's a group of high schoolers running at least one event a year, and more when they're up for it. There's no minimum size to start. You can start on your own and recruit later. The local lead does the ground work: finding members, finding land or arranging the education side, and running the event day itself. You won't be doing it alone, though. Every chapter has a contact on our team who has done this before and can help when you get stuck.
Two kinds of chapter
Plant, teach, or do both.
Run one or run both. Tell us which when you apply.
Education
Teach people about the woods near them.
Run workshops and talks about local forests and how to help them, in classrooms, libraries, or anywhere people will listen. You don't need land, so this works well if you live in a city. Our summer education events in East Cleveland have taught 40+ kids about sustainability so far.
Who does what
Our part and your part.
What we help with
- Someone on our team who helps you plan, from your first call to your first event.
- Funding to help cover event supplies and the other costs of running a day.
- Coverage under our 501(c)(3), so your chapter can take tax-deductible donations and give and earn volunteer hours.
What you bring
- At least one event a year, and more whenever you're up for it.
- Anyone in high school can join, and there's no minimum group size to get started. You can apply on your own.
- Leading it locally. That means recruiting members, finding land or setting up the education side, booking a place, and running the event.
How it works
Three steps to get started.
01
Apply
Fill out the application. It asks where you are, which kind of chapter you want to run, and why you want to do it.
02
We talk it through
You'll hear back within 48 hours, and we'll set up a call to talk about your plans.
03
You start
We train you and walk you through the process, and then you run your first event.
The map so far
Seven states down. Forty-three open.
Roots of Tomorrow started in Northeast Ohio. Since then, students in Exeter, Delray Beach, Midland, Grand Rapids, Cincinnati, Port Washington, Midland, and West Hartford have started chapters of their own, and they applied the same way you would. Each pin on the map is a chapter.
If your state is still empty, your chapter would be the first one there.
Apply
Tell us where you'd start.
The application is short, and it's the same one for both kinds of chapter. If you're not sure whether your area makes sense for this, send it anyway and we'll talk.
Closer to home
Already in Northeast Ohio?
No chapter needed. Come plant with the one that's already here.