Trees for the Tongass: Celebrating 100 Years of America’s Largest National Forest
The 100! for 100! Trees for the Tongass is a nationwide campaign to commemorate the 100th birthday of the Tongass National Forest in Alaska – America’s Rainforest (read more about the Tongass here). We will plant 100 seedlings across the nation in celebration of this centennial event. Be a part of the celebration, and leave a legacy by planting a tree that will grow for years to come.
To Join Us in the Celebration:
Gather friends and family and create a Tongass 100! Team. If you email us (michael at alaskawild.org), we will post your pictures and any short description of the event that you provide. Click here for an event guide full of tips for planting your tree and for making your event a success.
Look at some of the Successes!
Send us pictures and a write-up of your events, and we’ll post them too! (email: michael at alaskawild.org)
Planting a Tree in Grand Rapids
On Tuesday, August 28th citizens in Grand Rapids gathered to celebrate the 100th birthday of our country’s largest national forest, the Tongass National Forest in Alaska by planting a large Sugar Maple in Midtown. This “tree planting party” was in commemoration of President Theodore Roosevelt’s naming of the Tongass National Forest on September 7, 1907. The event took place during the Midtown Neighborhood Association’s 2nd Annual Community Celebration in the Midtown Green Park.
The event drew about 125 people and was highlighted by the split second maneuvering, coordination and teamwork involved in getting the 3/4 ton Sugar Maple off the truck and into the crater below. Many people pitched in to give a hand in the planting and also in the effort to sponsor the purchase of the tree. These groups included Alaska Coalition member group Fred Bouma Co., Rooks Landscaping, community member, Carol Moore and the Midtown Neighborhood Association. In addition to the the tree planting, the Alaska Wilderness League booth also handed out saplings to people who pledged to plant them and thus be one of the 100 trees planted across the country.
Monroe, MI for the Tongass
On Thursday, August 30th about 65 community members in Monroe, MI gathered at the beautiful Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Motherhouse to celebrate the 100th birthday of the Tongass National Forest in southeast Alaska. The event began with a presentation from Alaska Wilderness League’s Eastern Great Lakes Field Staff Benjamin Greuel titled “The Alaskan Rainforest: A Travel Log into the Land of Giants.” The slideshow not only discussed the history, people and culture that shape the Alaskan Rainforest, but also depicted Ben Greuel’s recent travels into the southeast Alaska.
Following the presentation the audience was encouraged to take part in a tree planting ceremony to commemorate the 100th birthday of the Tongass National Forest. In honor of this special event, the sisters chose to have a red mulberry tree planted adjacent to their organic garden on the grounds of the beautiful Motherhouse. The Tongass tree planting was the 2nd in Michigan and 2 of 100 to be planted across the country.
100! for 100! Trees for the Tongass Birthday Event
Write-up by Lois Norrgard, Upper Midwest Regional Field Staff, Alaska Wilderness League
Two volunteers (Jerry Neff and Sandra Snyder) and I, with support for a table location at the Greatest Grains Health Food Store, held a Tongass 100! for 100! Trees for the Tongass Birthday Celebration on Saturday, September 8 in Davenport, Iowa - Congressman Braley’s district. This event was co-hosted by the Eagle View Sierra Club — a member group of the Alaska Coalition — and Alaska Coalition Steering Committee member Jerry Neff.
We educated store patrons on the Tongass National Forest, its 100th Birthday on Monday, and promoted continued support for the forest by 1. Planting a seedling (blue spruce and sugar maple available), 2. calling their members of Congress, and 3. writing a letter to the editor of their local paper about their seedling and the birthday.
Thirty-one seedlings were distributed, as were planting guides and Tongass factsheets and brochures. Many others stopped by the booth to learn about the Tongass and ask questions but did not have yards or other locations where they could plant a seedling.
All in all it was a very fun and successful event.
New Hampshire Citizens Plant Seedlings to Celebrate Tongass’ Birthday
The birthday celebrations for the Tongass National Forest spread to New Hampshire as Alaska Wilderness League handed out nearly forty free tree seedlings at the Seacoast Farmers’ Market. The event, held on Wednesday, September 12, was in commemoration of President Theodore Roosevelt’s naming of the Tongass National Forest in September 7, 1907. The seedlings are white spruce, which is native to New England and Alaska.
“We are asking folks to pledge to plant the seedlings and help send a message from New Hampshire citizens to their congressional delegation that the Tongass belongs to all Americans and deserves protection,” said John Demos, New England Representative of the Alaska Wilderness League.
Trees for the Tongass in Illinois
Sean Babington, the West Great Lake Regional Field Staff for Alaska Wilderness League, organized an event Saturday morning September 15th, at the Glencoe, IL farmers market (IL-10). Sean and a volunteer gave away 40 trees (30 western red cedars and 10 austrian pines) and asked people to call on Congressman Kirk to cosponsor a bill in the House of Representatives that would establish Wilderness protections for the Tongass National Forest. The Tongass National Forest is our country’s largest national forest and the largest remaining temperate rainforest in the world.
Students Celebrate the 100th Birthday of the Tongass National Forest
The students and staff of Our Lady’s Assumption Catholic School in Albuquerque, NM celebrated the 100th birthday of the Tongass National Forest by planting an Alberta spruce in their school courtyard. Led by their newly elected student council, the entire school participated in the event and learned more about the Tongass and its importance to Native Alaskans who utilize its natural wealth for subsistence. The student council members dug the hole, led the program, wrote prayers of dedication, and even baked cupcakes for each student. City Council Member Martin Heinrich was unable to attend, but sent along a message of support on behalf of himself and Mayor Martin Chavez.
May 21st, 2008 at 7:49 am
Greetings from the Netherlands!
I am an American citizen (from Minnesota) permanently residing in the Netherlands. I am writing with a rather unusual question, which I hope you can help me with.
My son is an officer in the Dutch Army and recently finished a tour of duty on the NATO mission in Afghanistan. A colleague/friend of his, Tom, was killed in Afghanistan last July by a suicide bomber. He was 24 and his family (including a twin brother) were devastated by this loss. They are trying to pick up the pieces of their lives and go on without Tom and I have visited them a few times. During my last visit, Tom’s mother told about a trip they had made as a family to celebrate their 25th anniversary, to Alaska. Tom found a rare connection to the land and had fallen in love with Alaska, vowing to return. Sadly, he will now never have the opportunity to do that.
I am the environmental chair of a large international volunteer club organization (FAWCO) and am running a tree planting campaign to encourage individual members to plant trees as a positive environmental action.
It occured to me how nice it would be for Tom’s family if I could arrange to have a tree planted in Alaska in memory of Tom. I am trying to come in contact with an existing tree planting project in Alaska that I could support, or with an organization that could arrange a tree planting for this purpose. I found your website and am very interested in the Tongaass National Forest, but would like to plant a tree in the forest, rather than somewhere else in the US. Would that be a possibility? Maybe there is another location you can recommend that might be better? (While the tree would not have to be planted in a nature area, it does have my preference.) I would like it to be something a bit special that it would be possible to give Tom’s family information on. I would also not be able to physically plant the tree, so that would have to be taken care of by someone else.
Any help you could give me with regards to my request would be greatly appreciated!!
Thank you very much,
Sincerely,
Anne van Oorschot-Warwick
hein-anne@home.nl / anne_warwick2000@yahoo.com