Capital Trees 2018-2019 Annual Report

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You may know Capital Trees for our work adding gre

You may know Capital Trees for our work adding green spaces to #RVA, but do you know the why of it all? Well-maintained green space in urban areas has a positive environmental impact for city residents.

🌳 Cleaner air — Urban green spaces help to remediate air pollution making the air cleaner and healthier to breathe.
💦 Cleaner water — Rain gardens help to filter runoff and reduce the amount of pollutants that enter the Kanawha Canal, and by extension the James River and the Chesapeake Bay
🥵Cooler temperatures — Adding to the tree canopy helps to provide shade, cool temperatures, and make areas more resilient to extreme heat.

#ThinkGreenThursday #UrbanGreenSpace

Last month, volunteers from the Virginia Daffodil

Last month, volunteers from the Virginia Daffodil Society planted hundreds of historical daffodil bulbs at Great Shiplock Park. All of the cultivars (Empress, Ornatus, and Stella) were registered between 1850-1880 when the lock system was active in Richmond. Thanks very much to these volunteers for tucking in the bulbs for a long winter's nap. In just a few short months, these early and mid-season blooming daffodils will emerge to signal the start of the growing season. Stay tuned!

Thank you, thank you, thank you! To everyone who t

Thank you, thank you, thank you! To everyone who took the time this week to support our work by giving a gift to Capital Trees as part of #GivingTuesday. As a nonprofit organization, we're no strangers to depending on the generosity of our community. We rely on donations and volunteers to accomplish our work and to make lives better for Richmonders who don't have adequate access to greenspace due to decades of redlining. Thank you to everyone who has supported our work so far this year — we're fundraising both to maintain the health of our completed projects, and to break ground on the Hotchkiss project in 2024 (the photo on this post is a rendering of the finished project). As you look ahead to holiday giving, consider making a recurring gift to our organization. You can set this up from our website, so that you can help us make an impact, on autopilot, year-round.

Today is #GivingTuesday, and we know first-hand ho

Today is #GivingTuesday, and we know first-hand how our community comes together on this day to make an impact. Our urban greenspaces: The Low Line Green, Low Line Gardens, and Great Shiplock Park, provide residents and visitors the opportunity to embrace and feel restored by nature, in an otherwise urban setting. This year, we’ve also been actively fundraising for our newest initiative, a new 1.88 acre greenspace at Hotchkiss Field and Community Center to benefit residents of Richmond’s northside.

Support from our community helps us ensure our existing greenspaces remain beautiful and welcoming for generations to come. In addition, it helps us continue to add more of these spaces in communities who need it most. Looking for ways to support our work? You have options!

🌳 Donate. One-time gifts and recurring donations can be made easily from our website, linked in our bio. ☝

🌳 Volunteer to help us sustainably manage our urban green spaces. Learn more about how to get involved from the link in our bio. ☝

🌳 Spread the word by connecting with us here on social! Like this post, tag a friend in the comments, share this post with your friends and family. Helping us reach more people matters, and we appreciate it!

Tomorrow is #GivingTuesday — a global day of giv

Tomorrow is #GivingTuesday — a global day of giving. It's been a challenging few years, and this year has had its fair share of negative news headlines. Tomorrow, we encourage you to join in on a collective movement towards harnessing the power of good. People across the world will be supporting organizations they care about. We work throughout the year to make Richmond a greener, more livable place for everyone and to increase access to public urban landscapes. We’re thankful for our growing and dedicated roster of volunteers who contribute hours of their time to helping us maintain our urban greenspaces. We also rely on the generosity of our donors. If you find value in our mission, we'd appreciate your support — tomorrow and throughout the year. You can learn more about our organization from our website, and of course, reach out with any questions! Start from the link in our bio.

Happy Thanksgiving from your friends at Capital Tr

Happy Thanksgiving from your friends at Capital Trees! As we give thanks today, we can't help but share how thankful we are for the Richmond community. Every time we visit the Low Line, we feel the sense of connectedness between visitors — bikers, walkers, runners, picnickers, photographers, flower admirers, dogs, kids, elderly... they're all welcome in these public green spaces. Welcome to stop by briefly or to linger and stay a while. We appreciate everyone who has welcomed our contributions to the city, told their friends about our work, engaged with us here online, and stopped and smelled the flowers. We appreciate YOU today! What are you thankful for?

As a nonprofit organization, we know that voluntee

As a nonprofit organization, we know that volunteers are essential to our organization. Their commitment to our urban landscapes helps us to maintain them sustainably, while keeping our costs down. Our latest blog digs into how we work to engage volunteers and show them our appreciation — give it a read, linked from our bio.

We know that when people have access to green spac

We know that when people have access to green space, they feel better — mentally and physically. Research has shown that spending time in nature can decrease blood pressure and stress hormones while having a positive impact on symptoms of anxiety and depression. We also know that not all neighborhoods have adequate access to these essential amenities. The green space we have planned at the Hotchkiss Field and Community Center will provide a place for residents to exercise, commune with their neighbors, feel connected to nature, cool down in the shade, and reduce stress levels — naturally. The urban landscape we have planned is an investment in the health of the Highland Park community, and we're fundraising in order to stay on track for breaking ground in 2024. Join the cause, and make a gift from the link in our bio.☝

We can all agree that having more trees, more nati

We can all agree that having more trees, more native plants, more green spaces, and more eco-friendly practices is something we can all get behind. And we're so grateful that we're not fighting the good fight alone. As we work to build a greener, more livable Richmond, we're so thankful for the variety of other likeminded organizations that kicked off the movement before us, and others who have joined in since we got started. Together, we're making strides towards a greener Richmond for all of us. As we look back at 2023, we want to thank the other organizations that were partners, collaborators, cheerleaders, and supporters of our mission this year. We're looking forward to working together more, and are grateful to be on the same team!

@reforestrichmond @rvaparksandrec @virginiacapitaltrail @keepvirginiabeautiful @forestryva @rvah20 @jravirginia @southsidereleaf @groundworkrva @capitalregionlandconservancy @truetimber.arborists @basketandbike @sciencemuseumofvirginia @rvagreen2050 @rvagov @mainstreetrealty @henricocountygovernment @greenfinstudio @chesapeakebayfoundation @waterstreetstudio_va @timmonsgroup

The Highland Park neighborhood is at a heightened

The Highland Park neighborhood is at a heightened risk for the negative impacts of climate change and rising temperatures. The green space project we have planned at the Hotchkiss Field and Community Center will transform 1.88 underutilized acres into a thriving green space available to residents and neighbors. The addition of mostly-native plants, trees, and shrubs will help to improve air quality, and lower temperatures on the ground to help offset the negative health consequences associated with the urban heat island effect (overheating, dehydration, heat stroke, and death). A gift to Capital Trees is an investment in the health of Highland Park and neighboring communities. You can help us make an impact by heading to our website from the link in our bio. ☝

We love working side by side with other groups to

We love working side by side with other groups to help make Richmond a greener place. As part of Reforest Richmond’s #ArborDayRVA, we partnered with Richmond VA Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities and Keep Virginia Beautiful to plant 50 trees at Canoe Run Park the last weekend in October. Thanks to CoStar Group for their support of this event!

@reforestrichmond @keepvirginiabeautiful @rvaparksandrec

This time of year, as the gardens start slowing do

This time of year, as the gardens start slowing down for the season, it's the perfect time to reflect on everyone who helped us make an impact this year. From our faithful weekly volunteers who know the gardens backwards and forwards, to first-timers who come out and lend a hand during our community workdays, and enthusiastic groups who accomplish huge maintenance tasks in a short period of time thanks to teamwork... we truly couldn't do it without you. Maintaining our commitment to sustainably managing our urban landscapes is made possible thanks to each and every person who rolled up their sleeves to pull weeds, transplant bulbs, trim shrubs, and get their hands dirty for the greater good. Thank you for donating your time, it makes a huge impact towards keeping the gardens healthy and welcoming for all people.

@wmbranchout @piercearrowproperties @thoughtlogicconsulting @troutman_pepper @dykenelsonarchitecture @richmondwid @upsilonomegaka @rvacrosscreeknursery @crewrichmond @huntonandrewskurth thestewardschool

Our latest blog was written by Katy Riley, a grad

Our latest blog was written by Katy Riley, a grad student at Virginia Tech that’s been interning with us since early summer. Give the post a read to learn more about how green space can help make Richmond and other cities more resilient to the harmful impacts of climate change. It's linked from our bio!☝

When we first took on our upcoming green space pro

When we first took on our upcoming green space project at the Hotchkiss Field and Community Center, we met with community members to better understand what they hoped the space would become. We used their feedback to design our plans, and the green space will include a walking trail for exercise, areas for resting and gathering, trees to increase the tree canopy and provide shade, an expanded community garden, and native and edible landscaping to benefit pollinators and wildlife. Here's a preview of what we have planned, and we're going to break ground construction in 2024. We're actively fundraising for this project, and if you'd like to support our work, you can learn more about making a gift from the link in our bio. ☝☝

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