Message from Executive Director Geoff Cape
“A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit.”
We’re not there yet, but there is under way right now a global shift in peoples’ awareness and thinking about the health of the planet.
The landscape of environmentalism literally is changing: “green” is mainstream.
The strength of our organization is in the partnerships and collaborations we create across the country.
What continues to distinguish our work and what keeps it relevant and compelling amid the growing deluge of save-the-planet campaigns—is the singular power of soil, that dirt-under-the-fingernails connection to the land.
We put shovels in people’s hands, show them how to plant a maple, a dogwood, a tomato, and watch the magic unfold. The transformation is profound. Something elemental is awakened. One action begets another. This is the power of hands-on experience. Our work is real. It is about getting plants and hands in the dirt. The work we do engages people because we take action to improve our urban landscape. Planting is a positive act, not just a physical activity.
Looking ahead, the opportunities are enormous—launching a national food garden program, expanding our grant programs, deepening our design work, meeting exploding demand for corporate volunteer events, rolling out teacher training institutes across Canada, working with more provincial governments on extensive tree-planting projects, realizing the extraordinary potential of Evergreen Brick Works to change the way people think about cities.
Big feats, to be sure—and ambitious. But eminently doable, thanks to the energetic support of our donors, partners and collaborators, to the brain trust of our committed board of directors, to the hundreds of volunteers at the front lines and the passion and dedication of staff—to all those who believe in planting trees in whose shade they may never sit… the work awaits.
Geoff Cape
Executive Director, Evergreen
