As a child, planting fruit, nut, and ornamental trees was a part of what we did every Fall. I will always have the fond memories of watching those trees grow and mature and provide delicious fresh food and shade to eat a ripe juicy plum in. The trees also provided shelter for a variety of birds and insect life which I inspected daily. I will never forget tasting the gum of a sweet gum tree, not at all like I expected! Trees are a very valuable resource to our environment by providing food, shelter and beauty. They are an ever-present sign of life and our seasons as they bud and bloom in the Spring, flourish in the Summer, change colors in Autumn, and drop their leaves in the Winter.

This Saturday, December 1st at 8am you can be a part of the tree legacy by volunteering in the very first reTree event. Jenni Stolarski, long time Oak Cliff Kings Highway resident and Briggs Freeman Sotheby’s International Realtor, has been hard at work to put this event together for the last 15 months. Additionally, Kings Highways residents Lisa Benskin dedicated her time to grant writing and Pat Melton played a key role in organizing the event. Undaunted by her pet project, Stolarski says “I love my work as a Realtor. reTree Oak Cliff is a project from the heart .”

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On September  11, 2011 Stolarski’s inspiration for reTree came to her while on an Entrepreneurs for North Texas tree planting service project by Pam Gerber. The project was to honor those from September 11th in a life affirming custom by planting a tree. Stolarski thought “That would be awesome to bring to Oak Cliff and bring to our neighborhood!” Agreed!

reTree is targeting to plant over 100 trees in one day and volunteers are needed for a variety of tasks. Think you will have to dig a hole? Think again! Because reTree has partnered with the Texas Tree Foundation all of the holes have already been dug. Volunteers are needed to transport trees from Rosemont Elementary to their Kings Highway destination, put the tree in the ground, backfill with soil, mulch on top and hand out Tree Care Guides to the home owners.

From the volunteer pool a Green Team will form to ensure the success of the trees. On an ongoing monthly basis volunteers will check on the trees and leave notes about needed care for the trees.

What is next for reTree and Stolarski? Her goal is to plant 4000 trees in the next four years. Who knows, next year’s reTree event could be in your neighborhood!

reTree Kings Highway
Saturday, December 1st 8am
Rosemont School
719 N. Montclair Avenue
Dallas, Texas 75208