T.R.E.E. Inc. is now TREE Committee by Take MAR
Do you love trees? The shade they provide on a hot day? Their beauty? Their ability to host all sorts of animals? The oxygen they produce that fills our lungs? Well Take MAR looooves trees too. That is why we couldn’t be any more excited to announce that beginning in 2024 we will be continuing the legacy of an amazing organization called Tampa Bay Reforestation and Environmental Effort (T.R.E.E. Inc.)!
T.R.E.E. is a 501c3 that has planted over 30,000 trees in the Tampa Bay area starting in 1983. That is a LOT of trees. This amazing organization pushes to beautify and reforest the Tampa Bay area through the planting of native trees and to further public awareness about the merits of reforesting public lands. We have an immense appreciation for T.R.E.E Inc., all the work they have accomplished, its values, and its wonderful members. T.R.E.E. Inc. will be dissolved as a 50c13 and will be merged into Take MAR effective January 1, 2024, and become the TREE Committee under Take MAR.
Given our mission and values, T.R.E.E. Inc. President, Will Moriaty, and the board of directors, entrusted us to carry T.R.E.E. Inc’s legacy to continue to plant many, many more trees. His past and continued mentorship gives us all the trust and confidence that we will continue to do amazing things for our community.
We wanted to share some amazing information that was shared in T.R.E.E Inc’s final newsletter:
Message from the President: It's Been a Wondrous Journey! After a 40-year run, members of the Tampa Bay Reforestation and Environmental Effort, Inc., voted in a meeting on October 7th at the Getaway on Gandy Boulevard in St. Petersburg, to dissolve the organization and merge into TakeMAR. Ironically, TREE was created along Gandy Boulevard in Tampa in December 1982 at a restaurant, now long gone, called The Mexican Burro. Even more ironically, I would find out years after the 1982 creation of TREE at the Mexican Burro, that TREE Honorary Lifetime Member John Blechschmidt's aunt and uncle were proprietors of the establishment!
We now fast forward to the present. After preparing, and subsequently mailing,TREE's Articles of Dissolution to the Florida Department of State's Division of Corporations to honor the October 7th vote, the State filed the Articles of Dissolution, making TREE an inactive corporation as of October 16th, 2023. Between now and December 31st, TREE will concentrate on winding down its operations and proceeding with its merging into TakeMAR. Nevertheless, I am left with many wonderful memories of people and plantings over the past 40 years.
A Summary of 2023:
Total Trees Planted- 1,130
Total Varieties of Trees Planted- 77
Total Shrubs, Ground Covers and Aquatics Planted- 285
Total TREE Volunteers- 79
Total Projects- 32
A 40-Year Summary:
1983 to 2023: From TREE's first planting on May 7th, 1983, until ceasing operations on December 31st, 2023, TREE has provided the following:
3,000 Total Estimated Volunteers
31,181 Total Trees
270 Total Varieties of Trees
135 Genus of Trees
228 Species of Trees (spp.)
184 Cultivated Varieties of Trees (cv.)
28 Natural Varieties, Regional Ecotypes, Races, or Sports of Trees (var.)
6 Man-made Hybrids of Trees (xm.)
1 Natural Hybrid of Trees (xn.)
307 Tree Planting Dedications- 1986 – 2023
As you may be aware one of Take MAR’s primary initiatives right now is native tree planting all around the Tampa Bay area. We recently completed Phase 2 of our Native Tree Planting Initiative on the Pinellas Trail where we have planted 240+ native trees to date. These native trees include South Florida Slash Pine, Florida Privet, Gumbo Limbo, Jamaica Dogwood, Green Buttonwood, Red Mulberry, and others. We are excited to continue this initiative with the invigoration of this new committee!
We invite you to support Take MAR and our new TREE Committee in this endeavor by becoming a member. Your support in local tree planting would be much appreciated by Take MAR, the legacy of T.R.E.E. Inc, and the community at large. All membership fees will support the TREE Committee and its planting efforts.
