By Glore Ruiz
“As a kid around here you could ride your bike in the shade from Jefferson to Kingshighway, and now you can’t do that anymore”
Steve Spence is the Beautification Chair of Compton Heights Neighborhood located in St. Louis City. Spence noticed a lot of empty tree wells in his neighborhood. As a tree enthusiast and passionate city resident, he knew that he had to help the City Forestry Division, who was busy tackling ash trees and other tree problems. He combined this beautification mission with a tree planting mission.
Using the Neighborhood Foresters app, a mobile app for tree reporting and civic science created by a local group, Spence completed a tree inventory of Compton Heights. After he obtained this data, he was not surprised to find that there was plenty of room for new trees to join the neighborhood. Spence categorized which tree wells were missing trees and made a list of trees available from Forest ReLeaf and compared it to what the Forestry Division offered. Once he gathered all these resources together, he worked with neighbors to help them pick their tree(s). He focused on oaks because he noticed that the major selection from the City were smaller trees and his goal is to gain canopy for the community. The sort of canopy that Spence remembers from his childhood; the kind of shade that makes riding your bike in the summer a breeze.
Spence knows that to make that magical, mature tree canopy a reality it takes more than just planting the trees. He took the time to make sure his neighbors could have a say in their new tree so they would connect with the new friend moving in and welcome the accompanying responsibilities. Watering for the first 2 summers is critical to a tree’s establishment, and thankfully many residents agreed to keep their new tree neighbors watered. Spence plans to send out a reminder to help keep this new responsibility top of mind. For the trees that don’t have a committed resident, Spence made a watering truck to keep the tree investments flourishing. This is just the beginning. Spence aims to replicate this system for tree plantings in the Fox Park, Benton Park, and Shaw Neighborhoods. This communitycentered approach will foster a strong and beautiful canopy so future generations of children can comfortably ride their bikes from Jefferson to Kingshighway (and many other St. Louis communities) beneath the shade!
“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.
