Amazon Web Services Partners with the Arbor Day Foundation to Help Support Chesapeake Bay Watershed

LINCOLN, Nebraska (October 16, 2024) – Today, Amazon Web Services (AWS) hosted a community tree planting and distribution event in Bristow, Virginia in partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation and its local planting partner, Keep Prince William Beautiful (KPWB). The event included the planting of 100 trees throughout Bristoe Station Battlefield Heritage Park, a historic site located within a designated Chesapeake Bay Resource Protection Area. Additionally, 50 trees were also distributed to community members, helping to expand Prince William County’s tree canopy and extend the benefits of trees to additional neighborhoods in the area.

This project reflects AWS’s broader urban forestry initiative with the Arbor Day Foundation. Focusing on cities where they are located across the United States, AWS has committed to supporting additional community tree planting and distribution efforts to improve the environments in which their employees live, work, and play. Further, these projects are intended to promote environmental and community stewardship among coworkers by encouraging employee volunteers to get their hands dirty and actively engage in the planting efforts for each of these events.

"At AWS, we strive to support local environmental initiatives that create healthy, sustainable communities,” said Sarah Georgiades, head of AWS InCommunities, Americas. “We are proud to work hand in hand with Keep Prince William Beautiful and the Arbor Day Foundation on this tree planting project and preserve natural spaces for future generations.”

The Arbor Day Foundation has worked to plant more than 500 million trees in forests and communities around the world. Through a global network of partnerships, the Foundation facilitates projects that empower organizations of all sizes to reach their sustainability goals via measurable, impactful work through trees and forests. The Foundation has set a goal to plant 500 million trees by June 2027 in the forests and communities that need them most.

We are grateful to get to work with a partner like Amazon, who is truly dedicated to making a difference for team members and the communities they live in," said Dan Lambe, CEO of the Arbor Day Foundation. “This project will help inspire more people to connect with nature in a meaningful way, and we are excited to support this effort alongside Amazon and KPWB. Through this series of meaningful community projects, Amazon continues to demonstrate its leadership in environmental stewardship.”

The project was located within the Chesapeake Bay Resource Protection Area buffer, which helps serve as a natural filter for overland stormwater. Trees are needed here to help intercept and reduce pollutants in excess stormwater runoff from entering nearby streams. Additionally, the park also provides a particular ecosystem that attracts a diverse blend of bird species. The tree species that were selected for this project will help support these and other wildlife species, improving the habitat for purposes of breeding, shelter, and migration through the area.

In 2024, Amazon and the Arbor Day Foundation have also committed to supporting several community tree planting and distribution events in cities where they are located, including Mesa, Arizona; South Bend, Indiana; and Boardman, Hermiston, and Umatilla, Oregon. By the end of the year, the partnership will have planted and distributed nearly 1,500 trees in communities across the United States over the past two years alone.