CARPC Partners with Schools, Community Centers, and Nonprofits to Expand our Regional Tree Canopy

This fall, CARPC teamed up with local schools, community centers, and nonprofits to empower students and community members in expanding the regional tree canopy. By gathering acorns from heritage oak trees—those over 200 years old—the project ensures that new saplings are adapted to thrive in our local climate and environment.

CARPC Senior Resources Planner Matt Noone hosted two tree-planting events—one at Sun Prairie’s Westside Elementary and another at Madison’s Thoreau Elementary. Students installed tree cribs constructed by Operation Fresh Start, a nonprofit supporting disconnected young adults (ages 16-24) as they transition to adulthood. Each crib holds over 150 acorns, offering a safe space for young trees to grow, protected from wildlife and maintenance activities. At Thoreau Elementary, CARPC was joined by the City of Madison’s Forester and Driftless Conservancy, who worked alongside parent volunteers, teachers, and 2nd and 5th graders to plant the trees. In Sun Prairie, the local Forester and Dane County Tree Board assisted a kindergarten class with the tree planting at Westside Elementary.

In addition to school events, CARPC Executive Director Jason Valerius participated in tree planting with students from Madison’s Lincoln Elementary and the Urban Tree Alliance, adding more trees to the local landscape. CARPC also assisted Tamarack Trails, a Community Services Association in Madison, in planting six heritage oaks along a common area near a residential neighborhood on the city’s west side. As these trees grow, they will enhance community health by improving air quality, reducing flooding, providing shade, and helping to combat climate change.

To learn more about the Heritage Oak Project and CARPC’s tree canopy work, visit: https://www.capitalarearpc.org/2022-heritage-oak-project/ or contact Matt Noone at mattn@capitalarearpc.org.