The Seeds are Sprouting

Our winter rye seedlings nourish the soil for our future nursery.

Since we last wrote, ReTreeUS has grown as quickly and beautifully as the seedlings you see in the picture above.  We sprinkled our tilled nearly-acre with rye seed by hand, and it grew as we spread the word about what we are doing to many new people and places in Maine.

We brought our mascot, Kermit The Frog, to our table at the MOFGA-sponsored Common Ground Fair. This is a huge annual event, drawing progressive thinkers from all over the region and cultivating "green" interests in communities near and far. The ReTreeUS team led a lecture at noon, planting kale seeds with kids, and gave ten trees away to schools interested in receiving our orchards. We may not have raised much money, but we did generate a lot of interest in our program. And interest, at this point in the process, is equally promising in the quest to reach our goal.

To see a video of Kermy in action, click the play button below:

The Common Ground Fair came after another interest-generating event with our first partner school, Cricket Hunt. School founder and director Michele Bois-Gilbody invited us to table at her 10th Anniversary Celebration, where our band, Spruce Canopy, played and Kermit sang along. Many happy families went home with kale seedlings and information on how to grow these nutritious greens. Hence, our mission is being fulfilled already.

Cricket Hunt's orchard, along with one to be planted in a Portland or Lewiston-area school this coming spring, will help us fulfill the real fruit of our mission to educate a new generation of conscious and empowered home growers. Joe Bornstein is the generous sponsor of our Portland or Lewiston orchard, and we are currently applying for grants and recruiting support to fund the next few orchard installations.

To say this kind of support is vital to our success is truly an understatement. Donations to the ReTreeUS program go directly to education, planting more trees and creating access to healthy food. One of our most exciting developments of late is another sponsor: Votenet Solutions. This national e-ballot software company has agreed to fund the planting of hundreds of trees every year through their own client donations. This is another exciting opportunity for the ReTreeUS seeds to spread and sprout! Thank you, Votenet, for your generous contribution.

And thanks to all of our supporters! Whether you're donating money or spreading the word about ReTreeUS, you are helping to sprout the seeds of growth for our organization...and our earth!