The Anne Arundel County Watershed Stewards Academy’s Groves of Gratitude initiative provides county residents with single native trees and pre-designed, native tree bundles to plant on their properties this fall. Each bundle provides a specific benefit, such as increasing pollinator habitat, screening from roads or neighbors, shading for more efficient energy usage, or providing a sustainable food source.
A donation of $15-$60 per package is suggested. 50% of donations will benefit the Anne Arundel County Food Bank, to fight hunger ensuring that all those in need have access to food, nutritional supplements, and baby food. The remaining donations will contribute to restoring our waterways through Steward training and projects. Trees and materials are funded by Anne Arundel County Bureau of Watershed Protection and Restoration, and programmatic support is provided by the Helena Foundation.
County residents can place orders through Wednesday, November 3rd. For a list of available trees and to order, visit: http://aawsa.org/groves-of-gratitude. Please note, Groves of Gratitude are only available for Anne Arundel County Residents; residents of the City of Annapolis and Fort Meade are not eligible to receive trees.
From 2013-2017, Anne Arundel County lost 2,500 acres of forests, the highest rate of forest loss in the state of Maryland. Since 2017, even more areas of our county have experienced tree loss. In response, WSA, in partnership with Anne Arundel County, and with support from the Helena Foundation, created Replant Anne Arundel. In 2020, its inaugural year, Replant Anne Arundel planted almost 5,000 trees engaging over 300 residents throughout the County. Residents who are interested large-scale tree plantings for community reforestation and canopy projects should contact Restoration Technician, Rob Pavlik, [email protected], for details and availability.
