Organization to plant new trees at area homes damaged by 2019 tornadoes

Twisted metal siding or roofing material is wrapped around this maple tree in front of a residence destroyed by a tornado on Troy Street in Old North Dayton.  TY GREENLEES / STAFF

Twisted metal siding or roofing material is wrapped around this maple tree in front of a residence destroyed by a tornado on Troy Street in Old North Dayton. TY GREENLEES / STAFF

The Keep America Beautiful organization announced this Saturday it will lead a group of local, regional and national partners to plant 140 new trees for free at homes in Trotwood, Harrison Twp. and Old North Dayton that were affected by the 2019 Memorial Day tornadoes.

A group of volunteers from across the country will join local groups to plant the 1.5-inch caliper trees within five hours as part of the Miami Valley TREEcovery Campaign and Keep America Beautiful’s RETREET program.

Replanting trees following a disaster is often overlooked in the recovery process, with families not having the time, energy, funds or knowledge needed to replace lost trees, the organization said.

Saturday’s effort will be a partnership with Keep Ohio Beautiful, Keep Montgomery County Beautiful and the Montgomery County Regional Planning Commission. Major funding is provided by The Dayton Foundation, AES Ohio, The Thomas J Miske Fund, Charles D Berry, The UPS Foundation, Cargill and The Home Depot Foundation, among others.

Residents are still able to request trees through the RETREET website.

Keep America Beautiful and its partners previously planted 150 1.5-inch trees in April in Brookville, Perry Twp., Clayton, Vandalia, Butler Twp. and Trotwood.

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