rotary clubs: a powerful community partner for trees

CELEBRATING ROTARY’S BIRTHDAYSERVICE PROJECT Saturday, February 22, 2014

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Purpose & Goal:

What: A three-year Rotary / TreesCharlotte partnership to plant 1,000 trees during annual planting events held across Charlotte on or near the Rotary’s February 23rd anniversary.

When: The first event would be held Saturday February 22, 2014 at a CMS campus near uptown.

Who: The events will be sponsored by Rotary 7680 clubs with a $15,000 per year annual commitment for 3 years. The events would be coordinated and managed by TreesCharlotte. Each event will require roughly 200 Rotarian volunteers.

TreesCharlotte is… a public / private collaborative to plant trees, raise awareness of the canopy,

and educate about tree care

an efficient, entrepreneurial business model blending public and private capital

a movement to establish preservation of the canopy as a community-wide value

a catalyst for broad civic engagement

a science-based, nationally significant model

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Business Case for the Partnership:

The cost of a 300 tree event on a CMS campus:• Trees: $12,000 (300 x $40 per tree)• Tool rental, t-shirts, mulch $ 2,500• Event management: $ 4,000• Watering & care – 1 year: $ 5,250Total cost $23,750Rotary sponsorship $15,000, or 63% of cost

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Call to action and event details:Volunteering & Logistics The events was held on a Saturday from 9 am to around 12 noon, rain or shine.

Registration began at 8:30 am. Each volunteer received orientation from an arborist on how to plant trees. Tree experts were available throughout the morning to guide volunteers plant. Trees, mulch, t-shirts, tools, water, and snacks were provided by TreesCharlotte.

Volunteers were asked to bring gloves and to wear long sleeve shirts, long pants, and closed toed shoes. Volunteers will get dirty planting trees, particularly if its wet.

NeighborWoods tree planting events are held rain or shine. A modest rainfall actually provides ideal planting conditions. Upon check in at the volunteer table, each volunteer was asked to sign a liability waiver.

Questions

Contact Philip Volponi–volponipc@gmail.com or visit www.treescharlotte.org

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The Results & What’s Next :

What: 455 trees planted in 1hour 32 minutes

Who: The event volunteers totaled 255 with Rotary 7680 clubs members, family, friends and neighborhood volunteers. Ages ranged from 6-84 years of age

When: Saturday February 22, 2014 from 8-Noon.

Where: Martin Luther King Middle school Charlotte NC

How: Rotary District and local clubs donated over $16,000

Volunteer Rotary Survey Results:

• Overall, how would you rate the TreePlanting event as Rotary service project ?- 92% responded excellent

• What one thing did you like most about the tree planting event?- Well organized and Getting to see our results right away and the camaraderie

• What one thing about the tree planting event would you change ? Most often quoted “Nothing”

• Do you recommend that Rotary partner with TreesCharlotte next year? -96% said yes; and 17% said they would lead their club efforts for dollars and volunteers

Registration

Checks

Training

Lets get going !

Planting by Zones

Were done, meal time !