By Glore Ruiz
“I was concerned about asthma rates and the air quality in general, so planting trees was my response to the state of the city.”
What would you do if you were concerned about the air pollution in your community? That was the worry that plagued North City resident, Dail Chambers. Living in an area with low tree canopy, Dail knew that her neighborhood needed trees to remediate both air and land pollution. But how to afford them? She was thrilled to learn about Forest ReLeaf.
Dail had leased a lot in the Jeff Vander Lou neighborhood, an area just north of Grand Center. She then recruited volunteers to help her, while Forest ReLeaf provided the trees for free through CommuniTree. Roughly twenty-six native fruit-bearing trees were planted, fulfilling what Dail described as a childhood dream. The paw paws, persimmons, wild plums and chokeberry could now grow to filter pollutants, provide nutrition and add beauty to the area.
However, there were unforeseen hardships. The planting of a tree is usually a singular occurrence, but that was not the case for Dail and her trees. Most of them had to be uprooted and replanted when the leased property was sold. Although some trees were lost, many survived due to Dail’s careful dedication in replanting them. The trees now have a permanent home on a purchased lot that Dail named Coahoma Orchards, a name inspired by Coahoma county in the Mississippi Delta, where much of her family resides. Coahoma, meaning ‘red panther’ in Choctaw, pays homage to Dail’s indigenous family ancestry. As the Coahoma Orchards grow, the trees will fulfill Dail’s dream of planting and raising fruitbearing trees that will provide benefits to her community for generations.
“Imagine the kids in your congregation growing up learning all the native plants in your area and how to take care of them, and being able to experience the divine in nature,” says Christopher Grundy.
Since 1999, the Ferguson Volunteer Flower Department has been caring for two gardens in downtown Ferguson.
With Forest ReLeaf’s help, Park Commissioner Peg Crockett is adding more trees to Hunter Park, giving the local community more opportunities for play and leisure.
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.
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.
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.
