2017������� ������

Planting trees.Enriching communities.

“The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.”

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2017 was a year for Growing!

Gordon Schweitzer Jr., PresidentMary Sherfy, Vice President

Rob Hibbard, TreasurerCathy deJong, ex officio

Tim BrunsmanDavid DresnerKen EdscornChris ErkerDonna Hart

Alan JankowskiCindy M. Lewis

John MollerJoni OttTom Ott

Jesse Stuart

Renee’ Benage

My first introduction to Forest Releaf was early spring tree potting some time after 2008 when I finished my Missouri Master Naturalist certification. After retiring in 2014, it was an opportunity to join the regular volunteers on Wednesday mornings to help fulfill the mission of Forest ReLeaf. As a life-long gardener, helping grow and lovingly maintain the trees at Forest ReLeaf is a wonderful way to give back to our community.

I look forward to time with my tribe of dedicated volunteers (and staff) - we enjoy each other and have interesting and wide-ranging conversations while we are tending trees. The staff at Forest ReLeaf make it easy to volunteer - they keep us informed, attendance is flexible, they keep us busy, they educate us - and we have snacks. What more can you ask? Some days when it is very hot (or very cold), I ask myself if I would be working in my own yard if I were home...and the usual answer to myself is no. There’s just something about Forest ReLeaf that keeps us regular volunteers coming back.

2017

An

nua

l Rep

ort O

ur Volun

teers

Staff Board of Trustees

Donna CobleExecutive Director

Scott FrancisForestry Programs

Manager

Amy KleinDevelopment &

Marketing Manager

Tom EbelingCommunity Forester

Liana KoppVolunteer Coordinator

Thank You to Our Treemendous Volunteers!

Volunteer Spotlight

300+ HoursKay LaBancaAlfred Strout

200+ HoursJim Flynn

Vaughn MeisterTessa Wasserman

100+ HoursRenee’ Benage

Bob BoruttaFrank Breitenstein

Tim BrunsmanDave Durham

Mike HeyBob Lindecke

Tom NagleStewart Pagenstecher

Evelyn TullosGrant Wolff

Become a Volunteer at moreleaf.org/volunteer

33,915Volunteer

Hours Donated

3,753IndividualVolunteers

837,361Value of

VolunteerTime

Total Nursery Volunteer Hours

Total Nursery Volunteers

6,100

246

2 3

12,628Total TreesDistributed

217Total TreePlanting Projects

18,000Seedlings

Potted

47Native

MissouriSpecies Grown

Com

mun

iTre

eCo

mm

uniT

ree

Gar

den

s Project Com

mun

iTree

Volunteer GroupsCollege Bound

SLC YouthTrue Manufacturing

MO Master NaturalistsEdward Jones

Boy ScoutsSTL Garden Club

Enterprise Holdings, Inc.Edward Jones

Womens GroupCommerce Bank

SOS Women’s FundAmeriCorps St. LouisMaryville UniversityWebster University

Lutheran High SchoolMonsanto

ICL Performance ProductsWells Fargo

In 2017, CommuniTree Gardens Nursery experienced many exciting developments! • An inventory database was developed which allows staff to understand optimal tree species for different types of projects. We can also track issues with tree health and disease. • New potting, pruning, and staking standards and inventory capacity adjustments were implemented to ensure high quality trees.• A 1-acre prairie was established and is home to nearly 50 native wildflower and forb species.• Volunteers collected over 40 pounds of wildflower seed that was then propagated in our greenhouse. We now have over 15 species of wildflowers collected and grown by Forest ReLeaf.• Hosted 10 potting days for volunteer groups. • A new shed to store our gas cans was built by Board Member, Tim Brunsman.

CommuniTree Gardens Nursery is Thriving!

In September, Forest ReLeaf purchased our first vehicle! Our 2015 Ford F-350 was made possible by a generous donation from John & Cathy Milton and a few other donors. Our truck has the capability to pull our box trailer, loaded with trees and supplies, to our planting events. It is also used to deliver trees to the far corners of the state to organizations that would otherwise not be able to participate in Project CommuniTree. So far, it has been used in 9 projects and delivered over 1,000 trees in addition to running numerous truck-worthy errands and assisting with tree maintenance. One of the most important aspects is the ability to carry our 250 gallon water tank to provide relief from the heat and drought of our beloved St. Louis summers!

Forest ReLeaf Gets a Truck!

9,141 129,858174Free TreesDistributed

PlantingProjects

Free TreesDistributed

To Date

527Free TreesDistributedin Illinois

1,044 Free Trees

Distributed in Arkansas

15 20Nursery Projects

CommunityProjects

90 Forest ReLeaf Led Activities

376Events/

ConferencesClasses

12Tours

Project CommuniTree 2017

Project CommuniTree provides trees, at no charge, for planting

on public & nonprofit land.

4 5

Volunteers from Enterprise enjoyed a seedling potting day.

Community members plant new trees in Lafayette Park.

Pri

orit

y R

eLea

f Priority R

eLeaf

St. Louis Ash ReLeaf Priority ReLeaf 2017

In the fall of 2017, Forest ReLeaf was able to provide the City of St. Louis with 500, 15-gallon trees that were planted in Ward 5. This ward in north city was one of the areas hit the hardest by the emerald ash borer infestation as most street trees were green and white ash and had to be removed for public safety.

In addition to providing trees to the city’s Forestry Division, Forest ReLeaf also organized four planting projects in various neighborhoods including Jeff Vanderlou, Carr Square, Old North and St. Louis Place. Volunteers planted the trees on city right-of-ways and in neighborhood parks. Planters received tree planting demonstrations, coffee and doughnuts in the mornings and grilled hot dogs after the plantings were complete. The projects were made possible through generous grant funding from The Mysun Charitable Foundation.

In addition to the Ward 5 projects, the St. Louis based Americorps Emergency Response Team planted 3-gallon trees at Chambers Park and Norman Seay Park. Furthermore, Forest ReLeaf’s Young Friends Committee had a planting day at Yeatman Square park. All of these parks are located in North St. Louis city and were planted in cooperation with the St. Louis Parks Division.

3,337Total TreesDistributed

43Total TreePlanting Projects

1,700Trees Planted

to Replace Ash Trees since 2016

8,500Trees Donated

to Joplin since 2011

Priority ReLeaf provides larger trees for free to underserved &

disaster-affected areas.

500 Trees Planted in Ward 5

6 7

Several new trees were planted in the medians of North Florissant Blvd. to aid in reforestation after the emerald ash borer infestation.

Dedicated residents help plant more trees in St. Louis Place Park which also suffered from tree loss because of the emerald ash borer.

Christelle Adelman-AdlerBecca AnnStephen AntonGary AultJason & Thea BakerLynn BeinkeRenee’ BenagePatrick BousquetChristine BraunKen BuchholzThomas & Ellen BurkemperKatie CarpenterMartha ClarkThomas & Eloise CohoonChristy CunninghamMark DamhoffJulie DamhoffKyle DennisorDevereux & CompanyLarry or Judith DewDoug DickAaron DohogneKathleen DolsonWilliam DrennanShannon EarnestAnn EggebrechtRob & Carol EmmettLeonard & Jennifer FaganElizabeth FathmanLois FloroEileen FrankeEllen FuttermanAmy GabrielGarden Appreciation Club of Greater St. LouisJustine GartnerGivableJoan GrayThomas GrellnerBen & Suzanne GrossmanMargaret GuentherJoe & Brenda HaasEric HadleyNancy HartmanPaul HellrichMaureen HoessleLesley HoffarthJason HrdlickaJune HutsonMichelle ImpeyAyesha IqbalSue JarrettJohn & Lois JohnsonAngela KellyEric KobalJames & Pat KoeperRick KoppLaura Kozminski

$1-$99 Diane KrivoJanis KuhnLitzsinger Road Ecology CenterLiving Lands & WatersSteve LovellMurali MariappanSarah MartinDeborah & Timothy MatsonJason McClellandJohn & Norma McGuirkCheryl MertzluffRichard & Joan MorrisKen OlsenJanet & Tony PeetzBryan & Joan PeetzJulie PeshkinBob PickardJean PonziElizabeth RobertsGwen RogersLisa RoseBarbara RossbachBob RuckCaroline SantJan SievingSandra SokolikJudy SpeckWilliam SpradleyTarmin StuberRory ThibaultNikki Thole BuechlerAdam & Shannon ThomasBrad TinninKayla VaughanBarbara VossPatrick & Geraldine WelchKatrina WirulichDavid WoltzJohn & Denise WorkmanShuying WuIsaac & Marilyn YoungLisa Zoia$100-$249Jeff & Chris BakerLinda BargmannJohn & Ann BiellerSusan BlockJohn & Cheryl BohneyBob & Linda BrandewiedeLarry & Joanie BransonFrank BreitensteinVirginia BuschJulie & David CatronDonna Coble & Richard JarrettSue DellbringgeDiane & Bob DroegeAnn EarleyDebra Ebel

Ken & Dorothy EdscornDeborah FrankJoan GettemeyerJudith HarmonGreg & Valerie HayesHeidi & Chris HehnerStephen IbendahlAlan JankowskiKenneth JohnsonSara KammererPamela KelleyBill & Janet KoppJanet KourikMignon LaMarMartha & Alan LemleyJoy MarcusMetta Group of St. LouisDr. John & Laverna MeyerVicki MisloskiMissouri Beer CompanySandra MorrisJoan MurphyAnnemarie NauertPaul & Suzanne NauertMisty OlsonKathy O’NeillTom OttMichael PadellaSarah ParadoskiVicki PlatkeGretchen ReisigLisa & James RiojasGregory RissJacquelyn RobertsSonki SharmaMary Ann ShawTom & Shelley SmithJesse StuartThe Elegant Child CampusRob ViehmanWaterloo Park DistrictEdmund WilkinsonBud & Peggy WilsonKarla WilsonAndy & Laura Yates

Timothy BoeddekerMatt ChapmanGateway Circulation ServicesRichard LesageDoris LillicrapCynthia MetcalfeMary NealBill RuppertRick SchenkAlfred & Kathleen Strout

$250-$499

$500-$999Patti AhrensPatrick GeratyCindy & John LewisLinda PallmannVickie & Ken ResslerZoomba Group

$1,000-$4,999Alaris Litigation ServicesRonald BatesNancy CarverBoeing Company’s Gift Match ProgramEugene BrunkTim & Laura BrunsmanTom & Joni Ott ByrneChristopher ErkerThomas FlemingRob HibbardLiebel-Flarsheim Company, LLCConnie & John McPheetersMissouri American WaterJohn & Corki MollerNitzberg Magic FundGordon & JaneSchweitzerMary & David SherfySleeve a MessageMichael Spiegel

$5,000-$9,999John & Catherine Milton

Foundation & Corporate Ameren Corporation Charitable TrustBoeing ECFClif Bar Family FoundationClifford Willard Gaylord FoundationCommerce Bank Tower GroveE Reuben & Gladys Flora Grant Charitable TrustEdward Chase Garvey Memorial FoundationEmerson Charitable TrustEnterprise Holdings FoundationThe Funders NetworkICL Performance ProductsMissouri American WaterThe Mysun Charitable FoundationNational Fish and Wildlife / Wells FargoReuben & Gladys Flora GrantTrio Foundation of St. LouisVictor & Selene DeLiniere Charitable FoundationThe Whitaker Foundation

Government Support

4 Hands Brewing CompanyA’mis of Rockhill Inc.ApplebeesBethlehem Valley Brewers True ValueCaleco’sCharleville Brewing Co.Donna CobleDevereux & CompanyDirt CheapMargaret DruryEarthbound BrewingEdg-Clif Winery LLCForest Park Golf CourseGreat Great Rivers GreenwayGulf ShoresAmy Klein Liana Kopp Kay LaBancaLonghorn SteakhouseMia SorellaMission TacoNarwhal’s Crafted Urban IceOutback SteakhousePanera Bread Co. Pappys SmokehousePerennial

In Kind

PW PizzaSchlafly: The St. Louis BrewerySt. Louis Composting, Inc.Three Kings PubTrulaske Family FoundationUrban Chestnut Brewing CompanyWhole FoodsWild Bird Rehabilitation Center

Amy Lee Crites AW Smith Law Firm PC Baty Holm Numrich & Otto Becker Schroader Chapman Bosslet & O’Leary Ltd Brad Bradshaw Bradley Law Firm Brian Harvell, LC Brown & Crouppen Call & Gentry Carnahan Evans Cantwell & Brown Cole & Martin Copeland Thompson Jeep Craven Law Office Crimmins Law Firm Daniel Powell Brewer Dashtaki Law Firm Douglas C Fredrick Law Offices Family Law Center McClain Law Firm Pettit & Pettit Randy C Alberhasky Law Offices Ricket Law Firm Rita Sanders Law Ryan E Murphy Law

S Dean Price Scharnhorst Ast Kennard & Griffin PC Schreimann Rackers Francka & Blunt Schultz & Meyers LLC Shay & Associates Smith Law Firm Spencer Fane Britt & Browne Stueve Siegel Sullivan Law LLC Tarun B Rana Williams Dirks DameronAlaris Litigation Services Allie CarverNancy Carver Patricia DickDoug Dick Jo AerneAnn Eggebrecht Mehlville Garden Club’s 60 Year AnniversaryLois Floro Shirley Land ConservancyPaul Hellrich Ann EggebrechtSue Jarrett

Ted AhrensPatti Ahrens Amos M. BeinkeLynn Beinke Alberta McCoy KerryDevereux & Company John Ward SchafferRob & Carol Emmett Mary FaganLeonard & Jennifer Fagan Eileen BaubliteDoris Lillicrap Robert Jamieson Theodore M Meiners M.D. Lois CaplanJoy Marcus Sil RozyckeCheryl Mertzluff Ella Mae SchormanLisa Rose Robert L SmithJan Sieving John Ward SchafferNikki Thole Buechler

Mehlville Garden Club’s 60 Year AnniversaryJames & Pat Koeper Margaret Stacy GaalLaura Kozminski Amy KleinDiane Krivo MomPaul & Suzanne Nauert Sue NauertAnnemarie Nauert Christopher WilcoxMisty Olson Rob HibbardJulie Peshkin Bliss Shands Val TerryWilliam Spradley

In Honor In Memory

Gift of Trees

8 9

Satisfied Project CommuniTree recipients take a load of short leaf pine to be planted.

Financials2017 Revenue & Support

2017 Functional Expenses

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Program Services Breakdown

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Fin

anci

als Collaborative P

rograms

The Missouri Forestkeepers Network is administered by Forest ReLeaf of Missouri in partnership with the Missouri Department of Conservation and is an opportunity for all Missourians–urban and rural–to get involved in understanding and gaining important information about the condition of trees and forests. As of 2017, this program has a total 2,648 members. These volunteers survey tree health twice a year and reported over 12,000 hours of activities associated with their forests and woodlands in 2017.

The 2017 Annual Forestkeepers Conference was held at Engelmann Woods Conservation Area where the Forestkeepers learned about forest management and its effect on birds. They were joined by three members of the Audubon Society who helped find and identify birds during the hike. Brian Schweiss from the Missouri Department of Conservation recognized six Forestkeepers for their excellent work over the last year. This included one of Forest ReLeaf’s own volunteers, Alfred Strout, who spent 150 hours removing bush honeysuckle in his neighborhood and then replanted that area with 350 native trees and shrubs.

While Forest ReLeaf provides trees for free for planting on public and nonprofit owned land, we also provide trees at low cost for planting on private land. In 2017, 212 trees were sold in 3, 7, and 15-gallon containers generating almost $10,000 in revenue to help support our nursery operations. We added other items, such as our first ever run of holiday cards and new t-shirts. Additionally, local author Nancy Carver created and published the book, “Discovering Public Parks in St. Louis, Missouri.” She generously has donated 100% of proceeds to Forest ReLeaf. The books are available at moreleaf.org, on amazon.com and at Forest ReLeaf events. Nancy also mentions Forest ReLeaf in the book and has promoted Forest ReLeaf alongside her book at talks and events all around greater St. Louis. We cannot thank her enough for this support!

ReLeaf Sales

Missouri Forestkeepers Network

Vision 20/20 is the Missouri Community Forestry Council’s (MCFC) initiative toplant 1 million new trees by the year 2020. This initiative is based on a 2010study conducted by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) thatfound there are 1.2 million available tree planting spaces in Missouri. MCFC’sgoal is to fill 80% of those planting spaces. In other words, plant a million trees!

The progress of the initiative is being tracked with the PlantMOreTrees onlinetree plotter. This tool is administered by Forest ReLeaf and funded by TRIM grantsfrom MDC. The goals are to provide a means for the general public to engage in urban forestry efforts , to accurately recordthe locations of trees that are planted and to show the ecological and monetary value of those trees. The initiative was launlaunched in 2015 and all trees planted between 2015 and 2020 are eligible for counting!

In 2017, the PlantMOreTrees tool received several improvements including the addition of mass uploading capabilities so that organizations can plot many trees at once and have the trees be represented by species as well as the addition of a public user interface. The user interface allows the public to plot trees without logging in. Forest ReLeaf also purchased domain names for the tool, so the site can now be accessed from any web capable device at plantMOtrees.com. Forest ReLeaf has applied for a TRIM grant to extend the hosting and maintenance for the tool and to make improvements to improve the user experience.

Vision 20/20: Plant MOre Trees!

10 11

Forestkeepers hike in Engelmann Woods at the 2017 Forestkeepers Conference.

Even

ts

Forest ReLeaf hosted our first Coloring Happy Hour at Urban Chestnut Brewery in the Grove neighborhood of St. Louis in January of 2017. The event attracted nearly 50 enthusiastic participants who chose their favorite piece of artwork from our ‘Nature of Trees’ coloring book to bring to life. The coloring book was hand-illustrated by Board Member Sheila Voss. Urban Chestnut generously provided the space and a complimentary beer to all participants.

Because of the popularity of the event, a second one was held at the new restaurant, Crispy Edge, in Tower Grove South in November. Crispy Edge is owned by Forest ReLeaf board member, David Dresner, who generously donated the space. The event again attracted a full house as our artists tried potstickers in advance of the restaurants grand opening.

Winners were ranked on technical skill and creativity and received Forest ReLeaf prize packs. Both events exposed many people in the neighborhoods to Forest ReLeaf for the first time and allowed us to share our mission and form bonds with more community members.

Coloring Happy Hours

9,141 129,858174Free TreesDistributed

PlantingProjects

Free TreesDistributed

To Date

527Free TreesDistributedin Illinois

1,044 Free Trees

Distributed in Arkansas

15 20Nursery Projects

CommunityProjects

90 Forest ReLeaf Led Activities

376Events/

ConferencesClasses

12Tours

Community Forester Tom Ebeling taught several classes in 2017 including a two-part Native Tree ID course at St. Louis Community College. The first lesson consisted of a lecture while the second led students on a tree walk.

Additionally, Tom taught at the Elegant Child Early Learning Center and discussed how to count tree rings. At Indian Trails Library, Kindergarteners and first graders discussed what makes a tree a living thing. All of our staff and volunteers participated in classes, tours, and other events and conferences throughout the year.

Education & Outreach

Forest ReLeaf’s Young Friends Committee remains an active volunteer group for the organization! This group of young professionals enthusiastically provide service hours and coordinates fundraising events such as the annual Crawl the Grove Pub Crawl. In July, the Young Friends braved the over 100 degree heat to participate in the annual Weeding Happy Hour. After a couple of hours of caring for our young trees and chatting with friends, the group convened to enjoy a potluck nacho bar and meet about plans for the future. The Young Friends Committee also planted trees in Norman Seay Park in St. Louis City, coordinated Coloring Happy Hour events, assisted with ArborMeisters and volunteered at several other tree plantings throughout the year!

Young Friends Committee

12 13

Hundreds of trees were cared for at the Young Friends Weeding Happy Hour.

Attendees get creative at Forest ReLeaf’s Coloring Happy Hour at Urban Chestnut Brewery.

In 2017, Sara Trulaske led an effort to create a video sharing Forest ReLeaf’s mission and programming. Film crews worked to conduct interviews with stakeholders and document tree plantings and other events. Thank you for the Trulaske Family Foundation for this generous donation! The video can be viewed at moreleaf.org

Forest ReLeaf has a new video!

Act

ivit

ies

Eve

nts

Even

ts

Forest ReLeaf’s first annual Concert in the Trees brought music lovers to CommuniTree Gardens Nursery to enjoy a concert among the over 20,000 trees that we are cultivating. Rogers & Nienhaus (former members of the Byrds) performed on a beautiful early June evening.

Board member John Moller and his wife Corki, prepared a dinner of bison burgers and side dishes for our guests. Our Young Friends committee ran a beer tent and served beer donated by Urban Chestnut Brewery and wine from Edg Clif Winery. Attendees also went on nursery tours and learned more about Forest ReLeaf’s tree giveaway programs.

Concert in the Trees

The 4th Annual ArborMeisters Festival was held in September. Homebrewers once again picked their favorite tree ingredient to incorporate into their brews. Some ingredients included birch bark, juniper, pecans, elderberry, cherries and peaches. The winning homebrew was the Keylime Pie Gose brewed by Eric Smith of St. Louis Brews Homebrew Club (pictured above). Ingredients included lime juice, lime zest and graham crackers.

Live music was performed by The Wilhelms and Carter Hulsey and food was available from Frankly Sausages Food Truck. Attendees also enjoyed nursery tours and lawn games.

ArborMeisters Homebrew +Craft Beer Festival

Forest ReLeaf’s Young Friends Committee hosted the 6th Annual Crawl the Grove in December. Crawlers visited 4 bars in the Grove neighborhood of St. Louis to raise money for our tree giveaway programs. Participating bars included Urban Chestnut, O’Shays,Gramophone and Handle Bar. Each participant received a Forest ReLeaf scarf as well as discounts on food and drinks.

Attendees also participated in a giftcard pull where they can donate $20 to receive a giftcard valued at $20 or more. An afterparty was held at Atomic Cowboy. Nearly $4,000 was raised and fun was had by all!

Crawl the GroveIn 2017, much of Missouri was fortunate enough to be in the path of the Total Eclipse, including Forest ReLeaf’s own CommuniTree Gardens nursery! At the suggestion of one of our volunteers, Forest ReLeaf purchased solar eclipse glasses in early summer, before everyone began to scramble for a pair of their own.

Friends of Forest ReLeaf joined us at the nursery to have a picnic and watch as the sky went completely dark. As the sun came out again, birds began to sing as if it was dawn. It was a memorable event!

Solar Eclipse Viewing Party

14 15

Rogers & Nienhaus perform at Concert in the Trees at CommuniTree Gardens Nursery. Thirsty attendees sample tree inspired homebrews at ArborMeisters at CommuniTree Gardens Nursery.

SAVE THE DATE

OCTOBER 28, 201812:00-3:00PM

THIRD DEGREE GLASSSAINT LOUIS, MO

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IN PARTNERSHIP WITH