Staunton Tree Stewards took root (we’re here for all the puns) in 2020, when Shenandoah Green, a local environmental group, began the Staunton Legacy Tree Project. In three years, volunteers planted 3300 trees, and then began to transition to long-term care and management of those trees. Staunton Tree Stewards focuses on four areas within the 24401 zip code: where there is an environmental justice focus, such as historically redlined neighborhoods; heat islands; flood plains; and riparian buffers.

Our current projects include geolocating trees that volunteers planted and monitoring them on an ongoing basis; removing invasives such as tree-of-heaven and English ivy; and planting trees (though on a much smaller scale than previous years).

We have work days on the second Saturday of each month and either the third or fourth Tuesday, and welcome volunteers. If you’re comfortable with tech and want to get better at your tree ID, geolocating trees is a great way to do that (during the growing season, at least). During November, our work days will be planting trees. We also have a goal of organizing one educational walk per season. Anyone is welcome to join; we share events on Facebook and through our newsletter. We can also be reached at stauntontreestewards [at] gmail.com.

– Lora Steiner, Staunton Tree Stewards, September 2023

Depending on what you do, HMN Volunteer Service Project hours for these activities can be logged under:

• Wildlife/ Plant Inventories and Monitoring: Staunton Tree Stewards – Geolocating
• Invasive Species Management: Invasive Plants Removal, and/or
• Habitat Restoration/Maintenance: Tree Planting and Maintenance