Tree of Hope Project

Did you know that Indiana’s 23 million acres used to be covered with 20 million acres of forests? Indiana used to look more like the tree-covered states of the Atlantic than the prairie of the Midwest. Since our state’s founding nearly 200 years ago, we have cleared away 90% of our forests, today only 4.7 million acres of forests remain, about 20% of the state compared to the 87% that once was. By comparison, we have 14.8 million acres of farmland.

In our next 200 years, we must make a commitment to protecting, preserving, and expanding Hoosier forests. Everyone has a role to play. Instead of a monument of stone or steel to mark our Bicentennial, we are proposing a living monument, a Tree of Hope, that will be our witness to the next hundreds of years of Indiana and a symbol of the sustainability we hope to achieve.

Join us in planting your own Tree of Hope!

You can find comprehensive resources for selecting the right tree, avoiding invasive trees, tips for planting and caring for your tree, and so much more at the Indiana Urban Forest Council and the Department of Natural Resources . Or you can look for an Arborist near you at the International Society of Arboriculture. Proper care and planting of your tree will help ensure its longevity.

Check out our Tree of Hope Project in the News!

Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette: Trees Leave a Living Legacy