Hailey Benson, Bella Rodriguez, and volunteers at the first tree planting event in North Bergen.
Two Hudson County residents Hailey Benson and Bella Rodriguez found themselves in the middle of a global pandemic inspired to take action to create a healthier community. They looked at their community and how it could be improved upon. What they saw was a striking lack of trees and a lot of pollution. With the understanding that trees could combat pollution, mitigate urban heat island effect, and improve water drainage to help prevent flooding instances, they set off to get more trees planted in Hudson County. To launch the project the team created NB (North Bergen) Earth Talks and the Hudson County Tree Fund.
The next step was securing funds, recruiting volunteers, and getting permission to plant. They worked with Hudson County governments to gain the necessary permits and gather volunteers. To raise money to purchase the trees they hosted a raffle and utilized their social media presence. Volunteers came from across North Jersey including the Bergen County College Environmental Club and Grove Church Cemetery.
The power of social media was prevalent in their fundraising efforts. The duo used the NB Earth Talks Instagram and Facebook to host a raffle with products donated by small local businesses. Over 70 community members came together to record a video with a simple message “We need trees”. The video brought awareness and donations to the project. Hailey also used the streaming website Twitch to share the project and appeal for donations. In total they raised over $7,000. This allowed them to purchase 31 trees and planting supplies.
These 31 trees were planted across Hudson County. They kept supporters up to date on their Go Fund Me page and social media. A map with the locations of all the trees is available here. The towns they were planted in agreed to take care of them with regular watering and maintenance. Hailey sees the project as an accomplishment, but also a learning experience. In retrospect she wishes she knew about the importance of planting native trees because not all those planted were native to the area which caused some to struggle to adapt to the climate. Her advice to others looking to make changes in their community is to look at what organizations around you are doing and give them your support. If you go the grass roots route, don’t get overwhelmed and build a team to help you. They stressed that it’s about the goals of the collective community and there needs to be a space for everyone to listen to one another.
Thank you to Hailey Benson for sharing the story of Hudson County Tree Fund. Learn more about the work NB Earth Talks is doing in Hudson County here.