By Naomi Kim-Yu
“St. Charles County parks are focused on getting people into the wild,” says Brian Lepping, the Natural Resource Supervisor for county parks. This spring, Lepping brought in about fifty shrubs and trees from Forest ReLeaf to support the park department’s goal of building and sustaining natural spaces for visitors—both human and animal—to enjoy.
Lepping primarily oversees aquatic resources, managing the parks’ fisheries, lakes, and wetland areas—watery worlds that also benefit from trees. Lepping’s team planted Forest ReLeaf shrubs around a lake to stabilize its barren banks and to help with erosion control. The shrubs also work to prevent algal blooms in the lake: “The native vegetation soaks up the nutrients before the runoff ends up in the water,” Lepping explains. Without those shrubs, runoff could infuse the lake with excess nutrients, causing too much algae to grow.
Erosion control and algae prevention aren’t the only things Forest ReLeaf trees are doing at the St. Charles County Parks. Elderberries and silky dogwoods were planted in a wetland lacking in vegetation. “The trees encircle the wetland to provide cover and better habitats for waterfowl in the spring and the fall,” Lepping says. He had the chance to see migrating birds, including blue-winged teals and northern shovelers, in the area this past spring.
These migrating bird visitors, as well as more permanent residents like mallards, draw human visitors to the park too. “I saw a park visitor down there with a huge camera lens [taking] photos of the birds,” Lepping says. Kids from local summer camps and Scout Troops come down to enjoy the wetland area as well. Building up the native habitat around the wetland will make it a better site for waterfowl and people alike. Lepping is also thinking about planting native grasses to further support their goals.
“I was very impressed with Forest ReLeaf’s operation,” Lepping says as he reflects on obtaining trees and shrubs for the parks through the CommuniTree program. Forest ReLeaf’s smooth process made it easy to get free trees into the St. Charles County Parks, offering an accessible way to bolster the local ecosystem and boost community engagement in the greenspace. “I think it’s one of the best things I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been in the resource field for a long time.”
This project was made possible by Forest ReLeaf’s CommuniTree program!
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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.
