New Jersey Community Tree Recovery Program Prepares for Spring Tree Distributions

Fundraising Campaign Announcement Marks Second Anniversary of Superstorm Sandy

Nebraska City, Neb. (October 28, 2014) – The New Jersey Tree Recovery Campaign -- a partnership between the Arbor Day Foundation and New Jersey State Forestry Services – announced today plans to continue ongoing fundraising in preparation for vital tree recovery efforts in spring, 2015. The fundraising announcement marks the second anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, and reinforces the Tree Recovery Campaign's overall goal to provide 500,000 trees to New Jersey residents free of charge to replace trees damaged and destroyed by Superstorm Sandy.

Donations to the New Jersey Community Tree Recovery Campaign can be made at www.arborday.org/newjersey

On October 29, 2012, Superstorm Sandy made landfall in New Jersey where it damaged 346,000 homes and took 37 lives. The most severe storm of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, Sandy caused $37 billion in economic losses to New Jersey, a majority of the $65 billion of economic losses in the United States. Hurricane-force winds, storm-surge flooding, and salt water damage had a lethal effect on trees in the "Garden State," which lost millions of trees.

To accelerate the urgent replanting needed, and to begin bringing hope and healing to the people and communities in need, the Arbor Day Foundation and New Jersey State Forestry Services launched the New Jersey Community Tree Recovery Campaign.

As the residents of New Jersey continue to rebuild their communities, the Arbor Day Foundation and our partners are working to bring back the community tree canopy to help restore the delicate shoreline balance that makes New Jersey so unique. This year, nearly 100,000 trees were given to residents at 97 events in 19 counties.

The New Jersey Tree Recovery Campaign is a joint effort between New Jersey State Forestry Services' Community Forestry Program and State Forest Nursery, New Jersey Soil Conservation Districts, Sustainable Jersey and the Arbor Day Foundation. Financial support for the program is being provided by BJ's Wholesale Club, Brother International Corporation, Wyndham Vacation Ownership, and FedEx.

Several Community Tree Recovery program campaigns across the nation are led by the Arbor Day Foundation and national program sponsor FedEx, which has long supported communities in need through disaster relief, recovery and environmental sustainability.

Trees are assets to a community when properly planted and maintained. They help to improve the visual appeal of a neighborhood or shopping district, increase property values, reduce home cooling costs, remove air pollutants, and provide wildlife habitat, among many other benefits.

About the Arbor Day Foundation: The Arbor Day Foundation is a million member nonprofit conservation and education organization with the mission to inspire people to plant, nurture and celebrate trees. More information is available at arborday.org.

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