Through our programs, Trees for Missoula seeks to improve our City’s environment, build community, and connect Missoulians with the natural world and each other.

Education, Outreach, & Advocacy

In Spring 2024, the Trees for Missoula program received a two-year grant from the Montana Department of Natural Resources & Conservation (DNRC) to do community outreach, surveying, education, and tree planting in three of Missoula’s underserved neighborhoods. This summer, we’re launching our Tree Ambassadors program to connect with community residents regarding tree planting, education, and advocacy. If you’d like to get involved with these efforts, email susan@climatesmartmissoula.org.

Trees for Missoula (TFM) strives to increase public awareness regarding the importance of trees in the urban environment, including their social, economic and environmental benefits, and their importance to climate resilience. TFM also provides instruction on proper planting, pruning and watering techniques.

Some of our programs include:

  • Tree ambassador program - coming Summer 2024

  • Public community classes

  • Urban forestry classes in schools

  • Neighborhood Council and HOA meetings

  • University of Montana Urban Forestry Class

  • Professional conferences and meetings

  • Trees for Missoula website How To’s

  • Volunteer tree plantings & Volunteers in Pruning (VIP) program (see below)

Volunteer Tree Planting and Neighborwoods Month

"THE BEST TIME TO PLANT A TREE IS 20 YEARS AGO. the second best time is TODAY."

Want to plant a tree for our community? Trees for Missoula (TFM) would like to help!

TFM has partnered with the City of Missoula Urban Forestry Division (UF) to provide tree-planting opportunities for volunteer citizens. Bare-root trees that have been heeling in at the Missoula Urban Forest Gravel Bed all summer are perfect for early fall planting, just as the temperatures are starting to drop.

NEIGHBORWOODS MONTH – OCTOBER

The Arbor Day Foundation has chosen October to be NeighborWoods Month, a month dedicated to planting and caring for community trees.

TFM has brought NeighborWoods Month to Missoula, and each year, volunteers take action to make our community greener and healthier by planting trees—keeping their neighborhoods vibrant.

LEARN HOW TO PROPERLY PLANT A TREE AND HELP YOUR COMMUNITY!

We are currently planning our tree planting events for early October. If you or your group would like to plant trees for Missoula, please complete the volunteer form. If you are interested in learning more about the proper planting and maintenance of trees, you can find it here.

Volunteers in Pruning

After proper planting, formative pruning is one of the most important steps in tree maintenance. Formative pruning young trees enables them to develop functional and durable branch structures that in maturity will be free from major physical weaknesses and able to support the flow of nutrients and energy reserves.

The 2015 Missoula Urban Forest Master Management Plan identifies formative pruning as a need that can be addressed by a trained volunteer corps, so in October 2015, Trees for Missoula (TFM) and City of Missoula Urban Forestry Division (UF) trained the first class of Volunteers in Pruning (VIPs).

VIPs are trained to use proper pruning techniques, the five-step method and optimal pruning timing. In exchange for training, VIPs are asked to prune city trees for 25 hours (no time limit). UF certified arborists guide VIPs in pruning weekly during the late fall and winter months.

Since 2015, volunteers have pruned 1,765 city trees. If you are interested in pruning, please complete the volunteer form.