Marylanders Plant Trees School Challenge

The Marylanders Plant Trees encourages citizens to plant and register 50,000 trees each year to help improve air, water and quality of life in Maryland. To help meet that goal the state is announcing a School Challenge for all Maryland elementary, middle and high schools.

To help schools with the Challenge, the Marylanders Plant Trees web site has all the tools needed. There is guidance for selecting, purchasing and planting trees for your location as well as a tool to calculate the benefit of the trees planted. Most importantly, it has the tree registry. All trees planted for the Challenge must be registered online in the name of your school so you can win. There is even an interactive map to track tree planted across the state!

To help with the costs, the State program offers a $25 coupon to purchase any native tree costing $50 or more from participating nurseries throughout the state. This coupon can be printed directly from the web site. There is no limit on how many coupons may be used.

What kind of tree should you plant?

It's important to pick the right tree for your planting location. You don't want to plant a tree that will grow tall under a power line or too close to house. Native trees grow best in Maryland and are suited to our climate and soil conditions. Go to www.trees.maryland.gov to learn more and see our list of native trees and calculate the possible benefits of your tree. By using the calculator you can also see a picture of what the tree will look like when it matures.

Where can you get trees?

  1. Local nurseries - See our list of participating nurseries and use the Marylanders Plant Trees $25 off coupon.
  2. Have a landscaper purchase them for you and plant them - If you do this remember to register the trees.
  3. Tree-Mendous Program - to plant trees on public and community properties, parks and schools.

Where can you plant trees?

  1. Your family, friend or neighbor's yard
  2. Your school
  3. A park
  4. Community properties in your neighborhood
  5. Public properties - county/city owned buildings
  6. Conservation properties
  7. A local business or commercial properties

How Do You Plant a Tree?

It's very important that you plant a tree correctly. You don't want to plant it too deeply or too shallow or bury the trunk with mulch. Go to the Marylanders Plant Trees website to learn the right way to plant. DON'T FORGET TO WATER THE TREES! They need your help as they grow.

How Do You Register a Tree? Plant and Be Counted

It's easy to register your trees. Just go to Register Your Tree- www.trees.maryland.gov/register.asp and fill in the information. To make sure you get credit for your school, type in your school's full name in the "Organization" field. (Please do not abbreviate it)

Teacher Resources

Challenge Tools for Teachers

Online Resources