Renew America Success Stories

Tree Musketeers

Description

The Tree Musketeers is like no other environmental nonprofit in the world. Started to lend assistance in planting trees, it has since expanded to include virtually anything to do with protecting the planet, from recycling to environmental education. What makes it unique is that it was founded by kids, is run by kids, and serves kids.

The Tree Musketeers began in May 1987 with the 13 eight-year old members of the El Segundo Brownie Troop #91 discussing whether or not to bring disposable dishes to the Southern California Diamond Jubilee Roundup with 15,000 other Brownies, or to make the effort of trucking in and then carrying water to the campsite (to wash dishes). Ultimately, the organizers required them to use paper plates, and the troop decided to plant a tree to help offset their use of the paper. Sitting at the base of "Marcie the Marvelous Tree," as the Brownies named her, they launched a plan to help save the planet by planting as many trees as they could.

Since that humble beginning, the Tree Musketeers have helped community members adopt more than 5,000 trees, they have helped plant 700 trees to serve as a buffer between the community and a sewage treatment facility, they helped launch the city's recycling program and they have created an environmental education program that includes a school curriculum, a speakers bureau, a 1-800 environmental hot line and a monthly newspaper column. They have been recognized by no less than the White House for their efforts, receiving the President's Volunteer Action Award that was presented in a ceremony at the White House Rose Garden.

In explaining the origin of the Tree Musketeers, Tara Church, one of the group's founders, said, "It's going to be our world -- our problem, because it's getting really bad and its going to get worse if we don't do something." Tara, now a teenager, is a youth director for the Tree Musketeers.

With a budget of $500,000 a year, the Tree Musketeers are thoroughly youth-focused, demonstrating the enormous capacity of children for creativity, vision and follow through. Through their Youth Environmental Summit and Partners for the Planet, the Tree Musketeers bring kids together to discuss ideas for furthering environmental protection. To keep the Youth Environmental Summit, which attracted more than 600 attendees from across and outside the United States, kid-centered no adult could attend unless accompanied by a child. Even now, after taking a very adult step and incorporating in 1989, the Tree Musketeers keep true to their goal of letting kids direct the organization: at the meetings of the Tree Musketeers adults may only speak if spoken to first by a child.

The Tree Musketeers' success did not surprise Girl Scout assistant leader Cindy Bryant or other troop leaders. "We'd always taught them that they could be or do anything they really set their minds to, so it never occurred to them that they might fail," Bryant said.

Program Highlights

Program Details

The Tree Musketeers have:

• Developed the national "Partners for the Planet," a series of regional and national summits where youth discuss environmental projects.
• Organized the Youth Environmental Summit, which attracted 600 delegates representing 89 organizations from across the United States and as far away as Guam, Sweden and Russia. The goal of the Summit was to allow kids to share ideas about environmental protection. Regional spinoffs are being hosted by most groups during the summer.
• Developed a comprehensive environmental education program that includes a 1-800 environmental hot line, a speakers bureau, a local environmental column appearing in local newspapers and an environmental curriculum for local schools. Included in this curriculum is "Tree  House," an outdoor community classroom that will allow citizens tall and small to learn about organic gardening, irrigation, mulching, alternatives to hazardous products, tree planting and care, water conservation, native vegetation and composting.
• Chaired a volunteer committee to draft the city's waste management plan.
• Helped open the city's first recycling center, reducing residential waste by 16% in eight months.
• Held Annual Arbor Day Celebrations to give awards to the city government, local businesses, schools and residents in recognition of environmental efforts.
• Created the Memory Tree program, in which community members donate money to plant a tree. The program is helping build a tree barrier between the Los Angeles airport and nearby residential areas.
• Launched the Hometown Forests program, which will develop a how-to package for youth-led community forestry projects.

Vital Statistics

Program Management/Partnerships: The Tree Musketeers have entered into partnerships with dozens of government agencies, community groups and businesses including the City of El Segundo, U.S. Forest Service, Xerox, Pacific Bell, O'Reilly Insurance, El Segundo Refuse Hauling, Chevron USA, Hyperion, Kids F.A.C.E., Tree Amigos, Minnesota Conservation Corps, Earth Force and Leaf it to Us.

Budget: $500,000 annually, plus numerous in kind donations in the form of materials and volunteer labor.

Community Served: Local communities located across the country and world.

Measures of Success:

The Tree Musketeers are the recipients of numerous awards, including the President's Volunteer Action Award, presented in a ceremony at the White House Rose Garden.

The Tree Musketeers have adopted more than 5,000 trees.

Worked with a sewage treatment facility to plant a 700-tree perimeter buffer between the facility and the community.

Produced a series of six pilot television quiz shows about the environment called Tree Stumpers for community cable television.

Through the toll-free number, more than 8,000 calls were made to the national hot line in 1995 alone.

Speaking engagements in 1995 alone reached 50,000 - 60,000 people.

With the city and Chevron USA, young planting supervisors orchestrated the rehabilitation of a sand dune with native vegetation as habitat for the endangered El Segundo Blue Butterfly on Earth Day 1990.

Served on the planning committee of the National Urban Forest Conference.

Media coverage of the Tree Musketeers efforts includes stories on National Public Radio, the BBC and in Seventeen magazine.

Published: May 1997

Success stories designed by Mark W. Nowak

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