Savannah Tree Foundation plants 28 trees at new Red Cross facility

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - The Savannah Tree Foundation planted 28 trees Saturday at the new Red Cross Operations Center in Savannah as part of a partnership with the facility.

The foundation, which launched in the late 1980s, has planted more than 6,000 trees across the city. Executive Director Jackson Alexander said the organization’s mission centers on expanding Savannah’s urban tree canopy.

“Our mission really is to protect, and preserve, and grow Savannah’s urban tree canopy,” Alexander said.

The foundation maintains a community nursery with more than 4,000 trees, largely native species at various stages of early growth. Alexander said the trees planted throughout the city serve multiple environmental purposes.

“Help clean our air, reduce our temperatures, and help with storm mitigation, flooding, all things that Savannah faces as a coastal community,” Alexander said.

Alexander said the majority of land in Savannah is privately owned. The foundation forms partnerships with landowners to plant native trees across the city. Saturday’s planting at the Red Cross site marked one such collaboration.

“You can see it’s a pretty blank slate and so we were excited to be able to partner with them and add to the green space around their facility,” Alexander said.

Foundation staff were joined by community volunteers at Saturday’s planting. Volunteer Benjamin Sasse said the experience was meaningful.

“I love planting trees. It’s such a beautiful thing to be able to do, I think it is a very meaningful process,” Sasse said. “I think it’s something we should all do more of, planting trees.”

Volunteer Michael McGee said conservation and community drove his participation.

“Conservation is very important to me, I absolutely love this community, I’m a local, anything I can do to give back and make Savannah a better place I absolutely want to do it,” McGee said.

The Savannah Tree Foundation hosts tree planting events throughout the year, open to volunteers. The foundation will give away 500 trees at the Botanical Gardens on March 21. Information on upcoming events is available on the foundation’s website.