Kent, Ohio – The Davey Tree Expert Company has donated 1,861 trees as of October 2023 through partnerships with the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers, the MLB Cleveland Guardians and the NHL Pittsburgh Penguins to help re-establish tree canopies in Northeast Ohio and Pittsburgh.
“Davey recognizes the positive impact and critical role trees have in our communities, so it’s important for us to help reestablish the tree canopies in these areas,” said Sandra Reid, vice president of corporate communications and strategic planning at Davey Tree. “We are excited to be a part of initiatives helping to bring more trees to Northeast Ohio and Pittsburgh, and we look forward to continuing these partnerships and cheering on some of our favorite teams in the upcoming seasons.”
During the 2021-22 NBA Cleveland Cavaliers season, Davey donated 953 trees as part of the Trees for Threes program for every home and away three-pointer made. Davey donated the trees to various non-profit and community organizations and helped plant the trees across Northeast Ohio. Planting events included a distribution event in October 2022, where non-profits who applied for trees picked up their trees outside of Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. The second event was a tree planting in November 2022, at Brookside Reservation where trees were planted with community officials and Davey, Cavaliers and Cleveland Metroparks volunteers. The remaining trees were donated to the Girl Scouts of North East Ohio and Boy Scouts of America to be passed out at community events. During the 2022-23 season, 486 trees were donated for every home three-pointer made, and planting events are being planned for fall 2023.
During the 2022 MLB Cleveland Guardians season, Davey donated 132 trees for the Swing for the Trees program for every home run scored. Events included a planting event held in May 2023, where Guardians and Davey volunteers met at B-Buzz Baseball Field for a ceremonial tree planting and then were dispersed to nine non-profits across Northeast Ohio to plant trees. A second planting event took place in June 2023, at José Ramírez Field in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood to plant the remainder of the trees. During the 2023 season, 148 trees have been promised to the community for every home run scored, with planting events being planned for spring 2024. The Guardians scored 124 home runs during the season, and Davey decided to add 24 trees to the final number of donated trees for the number of home runs José Ramírez contributed.
Davey’s partnership with the NHL Pittsburgh Penguins, Score for the Trees, plants one tree in the Pittsburgh area for every home goal scored. During the 2022-23 season, 142 trees were donated to the Pittsburgh community. Planting events included an April 2023 planting at Sacred Heart Elementary School, along with a variety of smaller plantings throughout the months of April and May 2023, with more trees to be planted this fall. Davey is also a sustainability partner with the Penguins through its ‘Penguins Pledge’ sustainability initiative.
These trees do more than just beautify the neighborhoods they are planted in. The 1,861 trees at maturity will sequester over 3,000 tons of carbon, intercept almost 30 million gallons of rainfall and stormwater runoff and provide a monetary value of almost $500,000.
The Davey Tree Expert Company provides research-driven tree services, grounds maintenance and environmental and utility infrastructure consulting for residential, utility, commercial and environmental partners in the U.S. and Canada. Established in 1880 and headquartered in Kent, Ohio, Davey has over 12,000 employees and is the ninth largest employee-owned company in the U.S. This year, Davey celebrates 45 years of employee ownership – Join us and apply today!