Chip Minemyer: Planting a tree -- and remembering

Jul. 21—The small card from a local family was addressed simply to this newspaper.

"Thank you for planting a tree in memory ..."

Through partnerships with the Arbor Day Foundation and other groups, this newspaper's obituary listings offer special tributes for honoring and remembering friends or loved ones who have passed away.

You can have a tree planted in the name of someone who appears in our obituary listings — and help the environment at the same time.

Given the steady news of wildfires and deforestation across the country and around the world, this might be an attractive option for those seeking a way to remember someone close to them.

Each obituary on our website provides various links for purchasing a tree and for learning more about the program.

"Our trees are planted wherever reforestation is needed most at that time," Anna Rose San Diego, a customer care specialist with the Tribute Store, said in an email.

"We are unable to pinpoint the exact location of where your tree will be planted until the end of the season," she said. "Our forestry partners work with their networks of planting partners throughout North America. These planting partners are typically regional conservation societies who are based closest to the region of the funeral home or the recipient's home area."

The program is called "A Tree To Remember" — and the cost is $39.95, which includes a certificate honoring the individual, and a notation among tributes that accompany the obituary.

Someone must have ordered a tree for the family that sent us a thank-you card.

The website for "A Tree To Remember" reports: "Our planting partners have been able to revitalize over 50 habitats across North America."

To learn more, visit these sites: https://www.memorialtree.com/our-program and www.memorialtree.com/planting-locations.

Matthew Ipsan, general manager at AdPerfect — a business partner of our parent company, CNHI — said his company has arranged for a tree to be planted "for every person that passes in one of our communities."

He added: "We know how important each person is to your community and we want to do our part in acknowledging that."

According to the link that appears with every obituary on our website, "When you choose to have a memorial tree planted ... you are doing more than simply putting a plant in the ground. You are making a long-term commitment to the environment and rooting the memories of (your loved one) in our planet for countless years to come. A memorial tree is a unique tribute which provides global benefits like no other memorial gift could."

Tree types used in the program include: ponderosa pine, red spruce, long-leaf pine, jack pine, white bark pine, thornscrub and white oak.

Planting locations are in four states: California (Stone Fire Salvage Reforestation, and French Fire Reforestation); Idaho (Central and South Zone Reforestation); Wisconsin (Chequamegon- Nicolet National Forest); and Michigan (Kirtland Warbler's project).

The website tells you: "After an order is placed, our forestry partners will plant the tree in the area of greatest need ... according to the planting schedule for the year. ... Due to seasonal conditions, the tree planting takes place during the spring and summer."

The partnership with The Arbor Day Foundation, based in Lincoln, Nebraska, helped that organization reach a milestone.

The foundation reported last month that it has helped to plant 500 million trees over its 51-year history. Those trees were planted "in cities, forests and neighborhoods in more than 50 countries worldwide," the organization said.

"Sometimes it's hard to put 500 million trees in context because it's so many trees," Dan Lambe, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation, said in a press release.

"But whether it was planted in somebody's backyard or in a national forest, every one of these Arbor Day Foundation trees matters."

Arbor Day falls on the last Friday of April — meaning it will come around again on April 26, 2024.

The Arbor Day Foundation — established in 1972 — has pledged to plant 500 million more trees over the next five years, doing so in "those areas where trees stand to have the greatest impact," the foundation said.

"All of these trees are helping to solve some of the most pressing issues facing people and the planet today, but guess what? It's still not enough," Lambe said.

"We have to do more, and we will do more, thanks to our incredible network of members, supporters and partners."

And our readers — when they honor a loved one by planting a tree.

Chip Minemyer is the publisher of The Tribune-Democrat and The Times-News of Cumberland, Md. He can be reached at 814-532-5111. Follow him on Twitter @MinemyerChip.