After 30 years of service to Oklahoma communities, The Tree Bank Foundation will be consolidating its programming within OKC Beautiful, an environmental education and beautification nonprofit serving the Oklahoma City metro area.
The Tree Bank Foundation was founded in 1987 as a program to plant trees in Oklahoma City. It expanded to include the entire state in 1992. Since that time, the Tree Bank has planted more than 224,000 trees, and programs included Disaster Re-Leaf and Oklahoma Orchards.
"This is exciting synergy," said Tree Bank Foundation President Fenton Rood. "The collaboration will allow us to reduce our administrative costs so we can plant more trees."
OKC Beautiful and the Tree Bank Foundation have worked together on numerous projects in the metro area, and both organizations have been dedicated to expanding the tree canopy in Oklahoma City. OKC Beautiful was founded in 1968 to beautify and sustain the Oklahoma City community and has enhanced the community through litter abatement and prevention, tree plantings, public space improvements, and environmental education.
“The consolidation of the Tree Bank to become part of OKC Beautiful’s mission to beautify, educate, and sustain helps strengthen our community’s focus on doing everything possible to make Oklahoma City a more attractive, livable and quality place to live, work, and play,” said Hardy Watkins, OKC Beautiful President. “It makes sense that we come together. Community partners can rest assured their gifts of time and money will be invested wisely and pay dividends for generations to come.”
The consolidation means a renewed focus on tree planting and education within the Oklahoma City metro area and additional efforts to expand tree canopy in Oklahoma City. The establishment of the Tree OKC program within OKC Beautiful will focus on these initiatives.
“We are looking forward to expanding our efforts in fostering green spaces in Oklahoma City,” said Lisa Synar, Executive Director of OKC Beautiful. “This consolidation means an opportunity to expand tree canopy in the metro area, in collaboration with the City of Oklahoma City, Department of Transportation, and additional partners interested in creating a greener Oklahoma City.”
Click here to visit the Tree OKC page.
