Volunteers Needed for Dubuque Trees Forever’s Fall Plantings

Dubuque Trees Forever — a volunteer-driven organization dedicated to sprucing up the Key City — is searching for volunteers for some upcoming fall projects.

The organization needs helpers for fall projects set to take place on October 1st, 8th, and 15th. The October 1st event will involve planting street trees across the community. On October 8th, they will fill Allison-Henderson Park on Loras Boulevard with 30 new trees.

And on October 15th, Dubuque Trees Forever will partner with Sustainable Dubuque to assist residents who received a tree rebate through the latter's program, but need help planting the tree itself.

No experience is necessary to help plant these trees. Each event begins at 8:15am with a class called "Tree Planting 101" to help integrate novice planters. "We make sure everyone knows how to plant correctly, so the trees get a good start on a long and healthy life," said Laura Roussell, President of Dubuque Trees Forever, per a press release.

The roots of Dubuque Trees Forever go back to 2016 when a group of local community members had a desire to start a local tree group akin to several other communities in the state of Iowa. The initial meeting in 2017 saw 40 people come out with the same desire. Since then, the organization has grown like a sequoia, with hundreds putting in countless hours of volunteer service to continue to beautify our backyards, figuratively and literally.

We plant trees that beautify and strengthen neighborhoods and provide health and environmental benefits to the Dubuque community. - Dubuque Trees Forever's mission statement, per their website.

Anyone interested in planting trees for any of these October events can go directly to Dubuque Trees Forever's website and enroll in their date(s) of choice. Volunteers are permitted to sign up as individuals or in teams of three to four adults. Kids are welcome as long as they are accompanied and aided by an adult.

For additional information, email Dubuque Trees Forever at welovetrees@dubuquetreesforever.org.