The MillionTrees Project has been a huge success since its inception in September! We have collected over 100,000 viable acorns in less than two months and are ready to begin the planting process. If you would like a percentage of trees that we grow from your seed to replant, let us know and we’ll make arrangements. We have enjoyed hearing the stories of your acorn hunts and truly appreciate your hard work.
Thanks to everyone who supported this project by collecting acorns--we could not have done it without you. We’ll continue collecting again next fall, so if you know of a great spot, keep it in mind! Also, if you would like to share your experiences while collecting, we’d love to hear from you.
Continue to check this site for updates about this exciting project.
WHAT IS THE MILLIONTREES PROJECT?
 The MillionTrees Project is a new program of Living Lands &Waters (LL&W), a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization based in East Moline, Illinois, formed with the mission: to aid in the protection, preservation, and restoration of the natural environment of our nation’s major rivers and their watersheds; to expand awareness of environmental issues and responsibility encompassing our rivers; and to create a desire and opportunity for citizens to take an active role in helping to make a cleaner river environment. For the last ten years, LL&W has focused its efforts on cleaning up garbage littering America’s big rivers. In 2003, LL&W launched the next two phases of the project—restoring our rivers to a more natural state by planting trees and removing invasive plants and educating the public on the need to preserve and protect these natural resources.
LL&W is now ready to take its restoration and education efforts to the next level. Beginning in the fall of 2007, LL&W will plant seeds of native hardwood trees at a nursery created on the property of long-time partner Cargill, at its pork-processing plant in Beardstown, Illinois. Using a rich compost mix produced at the plant as a soil enhancer, LL&W’s goal is to grow 100,000 trees within the next 2-3 years and 1 MILLION trees within the next 5-10 years. All trees will then be replanted along the shorelines and islands of our major waterways, as well as within towns and cities that have joined LL&W’s efforts.
WHY IS THIS PROJECT IMPORTANT?
Over the last 150 years there has been a decline in tree diversity along the shorelines of the Midwest’s mightiest rivers such as the Mississippi, Missouri, Illinois and Ohio Rivers. Most of the native, mast (fruit and nut bearing) hardwood trees that once existed were depleted for fuel and building materials during the Steamboat Era and by flooding and disease. The residual effect has resulted in a monoculture of cottonwoods, silver maples, and willow. While these trees are fine in certain areas, they outgrow and crowd out many native fruit and nut bearing hardwoods in forests because they naturally grow at a slower pace. Therefore, the LL&W nursery would be used to grow native hardwoods such as oaks, and possibly hickories, hackberries, mulberries, pecan, paw paw, etc. This project is great for a million reasons-- here are just a few:
- Everyone assumes that there is an abundance of wildlife on the river, but many species have nearly disappeared because of the absence of food. The tree species that currently exist on the river have little or no food value for wildlife. The MillionTrees Project will only plant trees that produce nuts and fruit so that ducks, songbirds, squirrels, wild turkeys, etc. have a viable food source. These strong hardwoods also create a wonderful habitat for wildlife and nesting birds.
- The roots of trees act as filters. Especially when planted along waterways, these roots can help reduce the amount of pollution and run-off entering our creeks, rivers, and streams.
- Trees grow long and strong roots in order to keep them in place. These same roots also help keep the ground in place and reduce erosion.
- Diversifying the current makeup of trees along our shorelines and in our communities increases the opportunities for beneficial wildlife and insects to live. It also helps protect against viruses, bores, etc. that could otherwise deplete an entire forest that’s made up of just one or two species.
- Trees also filter the air we breathe. By absorbing carbon, they reduce the impacts of climate change, and the leaves also produce oxygen for us to breathe.
- When planted along shorelines and islands, these trees produce shade over our waterways, keeping them cool for aquatic life and reducing the intensity of algae blooms and eutrophication of our waters. They also keep humans and wildlife safe and cool during hot and steamy summers.
- Aside from all the health and wildlife benefits, trees are just plain beautiful and increase aesthetics everywhere they are planted.
WHAT ARE NATIVE TREES AND WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT?
Native trees are those that have evolved to the regional environment, with all its fluctuations and extremes, over thousands of years. They have developed the natural defenses to withstand many types of insects and diseases, as well as severe winters and summer droughts. Because of these traits, native trees typically thrive with minimal maintenance and have a much higher survival rate than non-native or “introduced” tree species. Native trees have also evolved with local flora, fauna, birds and insects so they will help support the web of life without being overwhelmed by it. Native trees are also a part of our nation’s natural heritage and preserve the character of America’s forests.
HOW DOES LL&W COLLECT THE ACORNS?
An integral aspect of this program is that it is an educational program and stewardship event driven by volunteers and the community. Here’s how it works:
- Individuals and groups of volunteers collect the acorns from around their schools, neighborhoods, golf courses, local businesses, parks, etc. in the fall.
- They identify the oak species, sort the acorns accordingly, and bag the acorns separately by tree type and topography (see Acorn Collection Guidelines).
- LL&W acquires the acorns and plants them in the nursery in early spring.
- LL&W grows and nurtures the trees at the nursery for 1-2 years.
- When trees are ready to be replanted, LL&W then delivers a percentage of the trees back to the communities and volunteers for planting.
- The remainder of the trees are planted by LL&W along river shorelines and islands.
HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?
The biggest challenge in making this project happen is collecting the seed…that’s where we could use your help! Rather than purchasing seed, we are trying to collect as many acorns as we can. You can do this individually OR, to maximize the effort, you can involve your family, friends, neighbors, students, coworkers, science departments, churches, scout groups, environmental clubs, ANYONE YOU KNOW…to help us collect acorns. You can also receive the trees after they have grown to plant back in your yard, at your church or schoolyard, etc.
PLEASE FOLLOW THESE SIMPLE STEPS:
- Print out the Acorn Collection Guidelines. This will tell you what kind of seeds we are looking for, how to separate and bag the acorns, what you should bring with you while collecting, and other helpful tips.
- Print out the Oak/Acorn Identification Guide. This will outline the types of acorns to collect and will help identify those that you find.
- Print out the Acorn Collection Form. This form will need to be included with the seeds, after collection. This sheet requests your contact information so that we can get in touch with you after we have grown the trees and they are ready to be delivered back to the community (1-2 years after acorn collection).
- Print out Bag Tags (2 to a page). These tags need to be attached to each bag of acorns and indicates the day of collection, species, collection location, number of acorns in bag, etc.
- Either send acorns to LL&W or arrange pick up. Details of this step are outlined on the Acorn Collection Form.
View the MillionTrees Photo Album
If you have questions, please call Denise Mitten at 309.496.9848 or email me at: milliontrees@livinglandsandwaters.org |
