RETREET provides disaster relief to communities on a local, national, and international level by leading volunteers in restoring decimated urban forests. We envision a society in which the need to replant trees is considered part of the standardized response to disaster and is provided for alongside other relief initiatives. RETREET offers a distinctive, hands-on experience for those who wish to volunteer in the wake of disaster and aims to educate the public about the importance of our unique work. There is no other agency focused on this unique, important, and underrepresented part of the recovery process.

RETREET’s main planting events take place over the course of a weekend. Our concept crystallized around making service as fun as it is rewarding, and on doing things the best way, not the most expedient. We host community events, inviting all of the locals for whom we plant to join us. These events allow our volunteers, who come from all walks of life, to get to know each other and the locals they are serving better, and to celebrate the work they have done and the new skills they have gained. We choose native trees that are grown locally and offer them at no cost to families, setting up meetings with arborists before volunteers arrive to determine the proper planting locations. Our ethos is right tree, right place, right time of year, the right way.

OUR CORE VALUES:

❋ Community

❋ Environmental Stewardship

❋ Planting & Care Education

❋ Transparency

❋ Volunteerism

❋ Inclusion

❋ Long-Term Impact