Planting Our Way To A Trillion Trees

Andi Sedlacek

Andi Sedlacek is the acting communications director for the DNR.

One Trillion Trees - That's Not A Typo

There’s a global movement to plant one trillion trees across the world by 2030. The state of Wisconsin is in on it, and you can be, too.

In 2021, Gov. Tony Evers signed an executive order pledging to protect and restore Wisconsin’s forestland by planting 75 million trees by 2030 as part of the U.S. Chapter of the Global Trillion Trees Initiative. A lofty goal, but definitely achievable.

With the help of the DNR’s three state nurseries, along with other state agencies and nonprofit groups, Wisconsin already had met more than 40% of the treeplanting goal by early 2024. That inspired Gov. Evers to increase Wisconsin’s pledge to 100 million trees.

When fully realized, the state pledge will result in 28.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide stored by trees over the next 50 years. That’s equivalent to the amount of carbon dioxide produced by 6 million passenger vehicles for a year.

Read more about Wisconsin’s Trillion Trees Pledge online.

Need Trees?

If you’re a woodland owner looking to add trees to your property, look no further than Wisconsin’s state nurseries. Youth groups and educational organizations also can purchase seedlings for reforestation and conservation planting projects.

All seedlings are grown at the Wilson State Nursery in Boscobel and are well-suited to their native Wisconsin soil. Choose from conifers like white cedar, balsam fir and tamarack, and hardwood species such as aspen, silver and sugar maple, American elm and more.

Seedlings must be planted in Wisconsin and are to be used in reforestation efforts, creating wildlife habitat, controlling erosion or constructing natural windbreaks. Minimum order requirements apply, and prices vary by species.

To learn more and place your order, visit the DNR's Ordering Tree and Shrub Seedlings webpage.