MARKETING THE URBAN TREE
Presented by Hollie Maxfield, Ontario Forestry Association , Program Manager
Appeared in 1996 newsletter

First, establish the motivation.
WHY MARKET THE URBAN TREE? The urban tree stands as a sentinel, often alone, in a sea of pollution, abuse and stress. As people rush to get to work, to get home, to get to appointments, our collective breaths contribute to the carbon dioxide/oxygen exchange. We must think of the urban tree as the sentinel against our own unhealthy lifestyles. We must market the urban tree to increase its presence in our society.

In a society of cars, air conditioners, larger and more intense heat islands, cigarette smoke, defecating house pets, vandals, the tree is ever more significant. This is self-evident, at least to the people in this room. So, what else must we do to convince people of the importance of trees? How can we market the urban tree? Let's look at it from the point of view of tree planting, using the new tree as the birth of the marketing focus.

There are four key partners in the marketing of urban trees: Corporations, foundations, volunteers and professionals . (Think of the residents in a community as potential volunteers.) There are also several methods we may use to reach these people. First I will discuss the key players.

From Sponsors to Volunteers
Two excellent sources of funding are corporations and foundations. I will briefly describe their function within a community tree planting activity.

Why do we need to approach corporations?
To get the funding. We need to gain the confidence of corporations.

What do corporations want from tree planting groups?
Not just the company name in print, but an activity that they can share with their employees, their clients, and their boards. They may be willing to initiate a fundraising drive within their ranks or plan a company picnic around a tree planting event. Matching funds may be offered by the company. Or, for every unit of sales gained, the company will contribute a unit of money to plant each tree.

How do we reach corporations?
They must see a direct link to their bottom line. Instead of marketing a product, they can market the company as environmentally friendly. Take the example of Saturn, who uses a softer approach to commercials. When they built their plant and had to relocate the trees on the building site, they used a tree spade to move every tree to surrounding areas. This information is exceedingly appealing to an environmentally aware public. A company can take part of the dollars they would have spent on an advertising campaign and put it into a tree planting activity that speaks volumes to the target audience.

Why do we need Foundations?
Foundations provide funding from established sources, often in a larger sum than that available from companies.

What are foundations looking for?
Streamlined, effective tree planting activities that ask only for money to cover costs directly associated with the planting -- brush blankets, mulches, site preparation equipment, trees, tree guards. They are very interested in the volunteer component of a tree planting plan, because this decreases the cost.

How do we reach them?
There are established Foundations who provide funds specifically for environmental purposes. And what could be more environmentally friendly than a tree? Most foundations have guidelines and an application process. You can find a list of foundations in several places.

Why do we need volunteers?
Volunteers are the backbone of any tree planting activity. They provide visibility to the project by attracting media attention, they can reduce the cost of planting by providing labour and donated goods, and because they directly benefit from the planting project they become better stewards of the trees. They feel a sense of pride in their involvement, and are eager to learn how to nurture and protect their trees.

How do we reach them?
People have to see how trees will affect their property values, their safety, their health, and the aesthetics of their neighbourhood. How do you attract residents to meetings? Incentives are great, such as giving away a free trees to every participant (or a seed kit). Give them the best reason for attending a meeting in their area; this reason will change from venue to venue. If you can give visual examples, your idea goes much farther. Give them clear direction as to what they can do to help, such as drafting and mailing flyers, organizing other volunteers, or the actual labour of planting a tree.

What is the purpose of using professionals in a tree planting activity? City foresters, urban planners, horticulturists, members of professional groups, landscape architects, and nursery staff are excellent resources. They can tell you how a tree might react to a particular site, how susceptible the tree is to insects and disease, how salt will affect the tree. They might also put you in touch with other groups who are doing similar planting projects. There is no need to work against each other.

Now I will describe the methods that could be used to reach the target audiences.

Education is essential in the marketing of trees. School children need to understand the importance of trees. Not just in terms of childhood associations of a tree : the tree that they carved their initials in, the tree that held their swing, the tree that they climbed to the top. Children need to see that trees add to the coolness of their park, hold the streambanks against erosion during spring floods, and breathe in the bad air so that we can breathe in the good air. If we can increase the value of a trees in a child's eyes, the tree becomes an integral part of the child's life. It will not be a target for vandalism, but a symbol for a long and healthy life. When naturalization programs intimately involve school children, from the planning down to the implementation and lone term care, more is accomplished. The care and understanding of tree should be made part of every school curriculum.

Educating adults is more difficult and less organized. One avenue is through school children. Very little is needed to get students to share their new knowledge of trees with their parents. Instead of asking parents for donations to planting projects, parent need to be a part of the process. They can become stewards of their streets, they can attend seminars on tree identification or care, they can help supervise the children on planting day.

Another avenue to reach adults is by advertising through Corporations . Companies are beginning to realise that their bottom line is no longer the ultimate consideration. They are beginning to realise that they must answer to the public, and to replace resources that have deprived us of our healthy environment. In order to do that, they must be seen to take an active interest in air and water quality improvement, vegetation replacement, wildlife restoration, streambank stabilization, etc.

There are so many other players in the community tree planting activity that they cannot all be mentioned. Services clubs, Scouts, churches, horticulture groups, Master Gardeners, politicians, city workers, and the list goes on and on. Make sure you know who is in your camp, and who might be working against you. And get local journalists on your side. They can be a great asset when they write a feel-good story about the community group who overlooked their differences and came together to make their neighbourhood friendlier, safer, and more beautiful. Journalists can spread the message about your efforts.

At all stages of the marketing of trees, the care and long-term maintenance must be stresses. Trees cannot be planted and left. In rural settings, the tree is competing against other natural forces such as vegetation and rodents. In an urban setting, trees are fighting to survive against dogs, cars, vandals, heat, salt, and many other pollutants. Therefore, it is necessary to incorporate a tending plan into any planting plan. Make sure you have a list of volunteers who will either water and fertilize the tree as if it was an adopted child, or report any difficulties to those who can help the tree.

So, to recap, the marketing of an urban tree requires an army of volunteers, professionals sponsors, and the community as a whole in order to work. We need to develop a strategy to involve each of these groups in a comprehensive manner, to increase the effectiveness and the returns of the planting project. We need to use schools and community meetings to provide education on the significance of trees. We can instill a sense of pride in volunteers by allowing them to participate at all levels of a tree planting activity.

By advertising the event we involve a larger portion of the community and keep neighbours informed. By photographing and quoting participants in newspaper articles or newsletters, we increase the sense of pride that volunteers feel in participating. And by reaching young children, we can change the face of our urban ecosystem forever.

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