Tree Planting Day with local high school students delivers tree equity to Chicago’s South Side

Openlands and Ecosia team up with the inaugural class of Tree Ambassadors from local Kelly High School to plant trees, taking strides against climate injustices that have faced Chicago’s South Side for decades.

SATURDAY, MAY 28, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. CT

On Saturday, May 28, Chicago-based conservation nonprofit Openlands, and Ecosia, the world’s largest green search engine, will host an urban tree planting day in Brighton Park, kicking off their partnership to expand tree canopy and invest in green workforce training for high school students in Chicago’s South Side. Together, they will establish a Tree Ambassador program where Kelly High School students will be trained to plant, monitor and tend to urban trees, and to mobilize fellow community members to take action on climate justice issues. The inaugural class will lead community mobilization efforts that will future-proof Chicago’s South and West Side neighborhoods to be climate resilient for decades to come. This partnership will usher in a new wave of green jobs for Chicago’s young workforce and take pivotal steps toward redressing decades of environmental racism facing these communities.

WHAT:
Openlands and Ecosia will be hosting a tree planting day where their inaugural class of Tree Ambassadors from Kelly High School will come together with community members to plant urban trees across the Brighton Park Community. The press event will begin at 9 a.m. CT where press will have the opportunity to conduct interviews with spokespeople from Ecosia, Openlands, and the teachers and students involved in the tree ambassador program. After the press event, press are welcome to observe the tree ambassadors and community members plant trees throughout the community.

WHO:
The Openlands team, Ecosia, Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, Kelly High School Tree Ambassadors and their friends and families will be in attendance. Spokespeople from Openlands and Ecosia, as well as the teachers and students involved in the Tree Ambassador program will be available for interviews.

WHERE:
Southwest Side of Kelly Park: 2725 W 41st Street, Chicago, IL 60632

WHEN:
Saturday, May 28, 2022 at 9:00 a.m. CT.