Welcome Re-Tree WNY was established on November 3, 2006 by a group of about 40 Western New York residents who saw first-hand the devastation done to our beautiful Western New York living resource -- our trees -- and decided to take action to re-forest every public area that was destroyed by the freak October 12-13 snowstorm. read more about us... News Spring Calendar of Events Announced by Re-Tree WNY Please click here to view everything happening now through April, 2010 with Re-Tree WNY The Buffalo News Green Leaf Fundraiser announces donor totals Project Green Leaf concluded on November 16th with a total of $183,000 in contributions for Re-Tree WNY. News Assistant Promotions Manager Carly Hartmans delivered the good news to the Re-Tree WNY board on Friday. The total number of donors, 2,100, surpasses the 2007 fundraiser by 300%! The News matched the contributions of its readers and published the names of all donors each Sunday. Re-Tree Chairman Paul Maurer praised The Buffalo News Publisher Stanford Lipsey and his organization for their campaign: “This 30-day campaign came at a critical juncture in our three-year tenure, if it wasn’t for Stan and his team at The News, we would be in a very dire situation for next year’s reforesting. The News readers stepped-up in a major way and our hundreds of Re-Tree volunteers are most grateful.” The goal, as stated by News Senior Vice President Dottie Gallagher-Cohen was to “get Re-Tree to the halfway point, 15,000 trees”. Maurer added: “This funding will get us there with enough to buy 3,057 trees in 2010” ABC-TV’s Extreme Makeover Home Edition gets over 100 trees planted by Re-Tree WNY When hundreds of Buffalonians chant “move that bus” to reveal Delores Powell’s made over house, the streetscape of her neighborhood will reveal a new tree canopy courtesy of Re-Tree WNY’s volunteers. Captained by Re-Tree board member Art Traver, a dozen crew leaders trained AmeriCorps volunteers at the site to plant over 100 street trees. The Massachusetts Avenue area on Buffalo’s west side will be featured when the episode airs in January, 2010. Next up: Spring, 2010 Planting Watch our Calendar of Events for the Spring, 2010 planting and other happenings in 2010. Meanwhile, Happy Holidays! Leaves & Laughs Comedy Benefit Leaves ‘em Rolling in the Aisles Rob Lederman’s hilarious troop of comics made for abundant laughter for the first annual “Leaves & Laughs” benefit for Re-Tree. Rob’s comedy playhouse had a full house on Friday, August 21st for the fundraiser. A Chinese auction included Unilock patio, full sized tree, golf packages, a Buffalo News basket , and much more. Prominent amongst the crowd of smiles were Tonawanda Highway Superintendent Brad Rowles, Grand Island Supervisor Pete McMahon, and Erie County Legislator Michele Ianello. Heavy publicity was given to the event including Ch. 4’s Sally Cunningham, three stories in Buffalo News Gusto, ArtVoice, Bee Newspapers, Channel 2, and on the Eyewitness News weather with Aaron Mentkowski. It is sure to be back next year, so be prepared! Erie County Fair Features “Retreat” for Re-Tree WNY Home Depot generously donated material and built a deck for Re-Tree to serve as a respite for weary Fair visitors that paid a buck to get a break. A cold beverage and a gift pack from 4 C Beverage Company was given to each donor. 97 Rock’s Carl Russo broadcast live each day from the Retreat and people got a chance to win a Smart Car that was on display. Sponsors of the Retreat were The Home Depot, 4 C Beverages, Satellite Solutions, Awnings Plus, Bob Weaver Motorsports, Dig Safely NY, Smart Car, and 97 Rock. Solar 2009 national convention in Buffalo gets trees from Re-Tree WNY 55 trees are being planted by Re-Tree WNY volunteers with the assistance of WNY Youth Bureau AmeriCorps and Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy along Delaware Ave. in Buffalo between Church and North Streets. The Buffalo Convention & Visitors Bureau’s Cheryl Zanghi worked with Re-Tree WNY Chairman Paul Maurer, board member Justin Booth, and City forester Jeff Brett to offset the carbon that is given off by the visiting conventioneers. The trees are being planted on Tuesday, May 12th. 2,000 more trees planted in May, 2009 brings total to 10,000 The reforesting of WNY streets resumed in earnest with the City of Buffalo and 14 suburbs getting planted with new trees the weekend of May 2-3, 2009. A major planting of 250 trees was organized in the vicinity of the Father Vincent Belle Center on Maryland Street near Busti. Tim Russert memorial at Waterfront is Re-Tree WNY’s 10,000th Tree Kathy Russert-Hughes, sister of famed Buffalo native son Tim Russert helped plant our 10,000th tree at the Central Wharf area on May 7, 2009, Tim’s birthday. Mayor Byron Brown, Erie County Legislator Michele Iannello, Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp board member David Colligan, Attorney Robert Kresse, and the board members of Re-Tree WNY did the ceremonial planting of the 20 foot tall sugar maple. The tree was donated by Russell’s Tree & Shrub Farm of East Amherst. 2,200 Girl Scout Troops plant 2,200 trees in state parks The Girl Scouts were organized by Suzanne Eisenberger who put together the troops from nine WNY counties to plant the seedlings in state parks from the NY/Pennsylvania border to Niagara County on the north and Genesee County to the east. Grand Island Supervisor Pete McMahon joined with Suzanne, other scouts, and Erie County legislator Michele Iannello for a ceremony at Beaver Island Park on Saturday, April 25th. Tree Farm established on Buffalo’s West Side by PUSH and Re-Tree WNY Josh Smith and his crew have planted 330 saplings to nurture to be large enough for Buffalo’s city plantings. The farm was established as the Youth Forestry Initiative on Friday, April 24th and will be used as a hands-on training ground for young people interested in arboriculture. The farm is on the 300 block of 14th street between Vermont and Rhode Island Streets in Buffalo. The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo gave Re-Tree WNY a grant to establish the farm and PUSH donated the vacant land. 3rd Annual Buffalo Enviro-Fair in Niagara Square another success story Organizations from Grass Roots Gardens to Tifft Farm Nature preserve exhibited their greenery” to thousands on a beautiful Arbor Day, Friday, April 24th. Gas sipping cars from West Herr Toyota were exhibited in Niagara Square in front of City Hall. State Senator Antoine Thompson spoke about his environmental initiatives and announced that Re-Tree WNY will be receiving between $50-$75,000 to buy trees for this fall’s planting! Sponsor of the event was the City of Buffalo, Re-Tree WNY, and West Herr Toyota. Make A Donation If you want to mail a donation to help us buy trees and supplies, please send it as follows: PAY TO THE ORDER OF: Re-Tree WNY service of Keep WNY Beautiful ADDRESS: 144 Heritage, Tonawanda, NY 14150 CONTACT NAME: Paul D. Maurer PHONE #: (716) 888-9766 E-MAIL: paul.maurer@citcomm.com Listen to local radio personalities read poetry about trees ©2006-2009 Re-Tree WNY