Tree Planting & Maintenance – Fall 2023

Here at PA IPL a big planting effort is underway, and we want you to be part of it!

PA IPL received requests for over 25,000 trees this Spring! We are excited to partner with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation once again to deliver as many of these requests as possible. Join us for a virtual session on September 19th at 7pm where we will learn

• about the importance of planting native trees
• how to plant & maintain trees you receive
• and a little more about the mission to plant 10 million trees in PA by 2025

We can’t wait to see you there – it’s going to be tree-tastic!

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March 31st Program Participant Bios

Katie Ruth (host): Katie connects humans to the planet, each other, and themselves. As Executive Director at Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & Light, they are responsible for supporting a volunteer board and small team of staff in cultivating a moral response to climate change that is interfaith, inclusive, and intentional. They hold an MA in Public Leadership, and a BA in Christian theology. Katie is focused on facilitating partnerships between individuals and institutions to promote social change and build community. They are passionate about peacemaking and justice, rooted in their deep connection to the environment. Their career spans a variety of experience in nonprofit administration, grassroots organizing and outreach, and faith-based community services. Katie is involved in several community resilience projects including environmental organizing, safe shelter, and the arts. They are an avid reader, enjoy exploring new places, and are almost always found with a cup of tea in hand.

Greg Williams (speaker): Greg Williams was a classroom teacher, environmental educator, and administrator during 30 years of his working life. He loved teaching kids about the natural world and how to care for it. At retirement age, as he was selling his used bookstore in NW Philadelphia, he was able to help with childcare for his young granddaughter Talula. However, he was heartbroken to think of the world that she, and all the kids he taught, would inherit and felt he needed to take on a “retirement job” of doing something about climate change. After schooling himself and studying what the possibilities were, his first step was to join a neighborhood group of Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & Light. Over the last 9 years he served on the Board and found his “calling. ” When he moved to Central PA to be close to other grandchildren he started doing creation care by removing “misplaced” plants, AKA non-native invasives, and replacing them with natives. With hundreds of volunteers, and through a partnership between PA IPL and Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the collaborative effort has resulted in nearly 35,000 trees being planted or distributed to others who plant them across Pennsylvania. He especially loves the spiritual exercise of being in the natural world and alert and aware of all the wonders he finds there and is grateful for this opportunity.

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There is no fee for this program, but a suggested $5 donation will help us keep doing this work.