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Planting trees & enriching communities
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August 2026
September 2026
Sep 26
Sep 26, 2026
Arbormeisters 2026
Forest ReLeaf Nursery and Arboretum,
2194 Creve Coeur Mill Road
Maryland Heights, MO 63146 United States
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Volunteer

Join Forest ReLeaf’s team by lending your time and talents

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CommuniTree

Get FREE TREES for public/nonprofit projects

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Priority ReLeaf

Forest ReLeaf is growing trees where they’re needed most

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Project Highlights

Our trees are making a difference

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Treesilience

Growing a resilient tree canopy by “leveling the planting field”

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Why Trees?

Community benefits and ecosystem impact

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We need trees.

For the air we breathe, the water we use, and the wildlife we love.

Trees benefit the greater good in ways that most of us don’t think of.

At Forest ReLeaf, we believe that the countless benefits of trees are worth finding creative solutions.

That’s why we work with community groups, individuals, municipal governments, under-resourced communities and non-profits in order to steward the expansion of native tree growth across Missouri.

Support Our Mission

We don’t just plant trees randomly.

We strategically plan for well-adapted, ecologically appropriate trees in the right places to support thriving, biodiverse forest systems across our urban and wildlands. In 2025 this looked like:

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Planting Projects

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What people are saying

"You look at a tree and you just are inspired. They're such a keystone species. So many things rely on trees, including us. It's just amazing the things that trees provide, and even when they die, trees still continue to provide. It humbles you."
Matthew Knopf-Amelung
Matthew Knopf-AmelungSenior Groundskeeper, Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City
“Trees are just a constant source of inspiration and joy, but also a mystery when you wonder about how old they are, how long they've been here, how they got here, and how the area looked like when this tree first started growing.”
Stephen Bybee
Stephen BybeeVolunteer, Kiwanis Park in Columbia, MO
“You see such a turnaround from spring to fall and you see what you do is making a difference. It’s very rewarding.”
Kay La Banca
Kay La BancaVolunteer, Forest ReLeaf
“I was concerned about asthma and air quality in general, so planting trees was my response to the state of the City.”
Dail ChambersFounder, Coahoma Orchards
“Putting something on this vacant lot, including a tree, just sends a different message into the world, like ‘this lot has potential, this community has potential’.”
Samantha SmugalaFounder, Pocketparks

Elijah Belz
Field Operations Coordinator

I am Elijah Belz, the Field Operations Coordinator for Forest ReLeaf. I am a certified arborist and the primary person in the field for Forest ReLeaf, maintaining roughly 1000 trees planted in the St. Louis City, and maintaining our equipment our equipment used to maintain our trees! This job is a catch-all position that carries different responsibilities during the different seasons. Fall and spring are our planting, tree delivery, and inventory season; winter is our pruning, mulching, and planning season; summer is our watering season where we lead a crew of interns getting into the green industry. 

My background is bicycle repair! I was in that industry for almost a decade, including running a bicycle repair shop, before taking a job with a tree planting organization in Atlanta. From there I moved to an edible landscape company. I became certified as an arborist while working at Forest ReLeaf this February! Trees rock, bikes are cool too.

Amy Moscowitz
Outreach Coordinator

Amy Moscowitz joined Forest ReLeaf in 2026 as Outreach Coordinator, bringing experience in community engagement, volunteer coordination, and outdoor education. She is passionate about creating meaningful experiences that help people connect with nature and each other. She is excited to activate the City Tree Farm and engage the St. Louis community in hands-on environmental work.

Kate Pichon-Hellmann
Office Assistant

Kate joined Forest ReLeaf in November 2025 with a background in education, ministry, community organizing, and local government.  Born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, Kate’s love of nature began at an early age while building tree forts, foraging for blueberries, and exploring the Alaskan wilderness.  Kate has a B.A. from Loyola University Chicago, a M.Div. from the Jesuit School of Theology, and a M.S. in Urban Ecology and Sustainable Planning from Unity College.  Kate is passionate about environmental sustainability, native plants, and sustainable urban planning.  She brings her passion and skills to support the great work of the Forest ReLeaf team.

De'Nonna Jones

De’Nonna Jones graduated from Knox College in 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies, driven by a commitment to environmental justice and community-based conservation. Since then, she has gained hands-on experience working across a range of green spaces throughout the St. Louis region, focusing on the care, restoration, and accessibility of urban natural areas. She began her journey at Tower Grove Park, where she developed a deep appreciation for public green spaces as vital community resources, before moving into a stewardship role with the Missouri Botanical Garden in partnership with Great Rivers Greenway. She now serves as the Stewardship Crew Coordinator at Forest ReLeaf. De’Nonna is passionate about creating inclusive pathways into environmental work and empowering tree lovers and emerging conservationists to see themselves as stewards of their communities. Through her work, she strives to strengthen connections between people, trees, and places in urban environments.

Jess Underwood
Finance & Operations Director

After 17 years in the non-profit and public sector, Jess remains committed to mission-driven work that tackles the challenges facing our communities. Their career began with a year of service as an Americorps St. Louis Emergency Response team member, responding to natural disasters and performing conservation projects. That foundation of service led to roles supporting the arts, affordable housing, mental health, and grassroots housing advocacy in St. Louis. During this journey Jess has worked to center the value “nothing about us, without us.” They do their best to ensure that the voices of people who have been marginalized guide the strategy and execution of work that honors their lived experiences. When they aren’t working, Jess is out paddling, hiking, working in their garden, or building something.