Newport nonprofit named Champion in Action for environmental sustainability

NEWPORT, R.I. (WJAR) — The Newport Tree Conservancy on Tuesday was named NBC 10 Citizens Bank Champion in Action for environmental sustainability.

The Newport nonprofit receives a $35,000 check and promotional support on NBC 10.

On a late October weekend, volunteers help plant some 100 trees at Miantonomi Park in Newport.

"It's a big effort, as you can see, it's quite a few trees," Joe Verstandig, the living collections manager.

The trees came from the Newport Tree Conservancy.

The annual tree planting is just one of many projects the nonprofit takes on.

The organization offers free tree walks, works in schools and preserves history through horticulture.

"This is a signature tree in Newport. A lot of the historic estates have large Turkish oaks," Verstandig said.

The conservancy has a program of propagating and cultivating historic trees in Newport, through grafting.

"if you were to buy a plant from a nursery or grow a plant from seed, it would be different in some ways," Verstandig. "So, it's important to maintain those exact characteristics."

"When those institutions lose those trees, we can present them with the identical progeny of that parent tree," Executive Director Natasha Harrison said.

One of the key components they focus on here is tree equity, figuring out where there's a lack of trees in the community and then getting the community engaged and involved in getting more trees planted in those areas.

"We can see the lower scores in the North End of Newport, and we're working to try to get trees into those neighborhoods through engaging residents," Harrison said.

It's why the Newport Tree Conservancy is a Champion in Action for environmental sustainability.

"Basically, just trying to get the word out that we have free trees available and we're here to help get those trees in the ground, whether it's along the street or front yards or back yards, public parks," Harrison said.

Planting a strong future for the environment where they live.