OUR SERVICES
Free to Grow’s primary mission is to plant trees wherever trees should be planted that might not be but for efforts. To that end we offer a variety of services to support your tree planting goals. The areas below highlight the services we provide and the ways in which we can work together; to help you plant trees and make the world a better, greener place is our primary focus.
We apply science and modeling to the design and implementation of forest-centric climate change mitigation projects. We use a combination of forestry techniques to create site specific prescriptions to establish enduring and resilient forest ecosystems that will increase the sequestration and storage of carbon by trees and soil in order to decrease disruptive levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. These projects aim to integrate optimal carbon sequestration with sustainable harvest, wildfire mitigation, and biodiversity.
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Selling carbon credits on the carbon offset markets is a great way for small landowners to earn an income from their standing forest. This can be an incentive for land owners to preserve their forests, implement ecological forest management, and increase the length of harvest intervals.
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Free to Grow works to connect landowners with organizations that coordinate carbon offset projects.
We develop site specific tree planting plans for farmers and small landowners. These plans are designed to enhance riparian zones for water quality protection and to implement silvopasture strategies to create hedge rows, shade trees, and windbreaks for the health of soil and livestock. We also design and plant food forests and other sustainable product oriented plantings.
Reforestation Consultation
Has your forest been impacted by a major disturbance such as wildfire, clear-cut harvest or disease outbreak?
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Our knowledgeable reforestation experts can help you develop a comprehensive reforestation plan from start to finish. Including site preparation, tree planting and monitoring survival.
We will help you decide what kind of trees are best suited to your site, stocking rates, and other criteria to meet your long term forest goals. We will help you source trees, plant them, and monitor survival over the first few years.
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Forest Stewardship
Our experienced foresters can help you create a comprehensive forest stewardship plan that meets your short and long term management goals.
We strive to develop plans that balance the many ecosystem services that forests provide including but not limited to timber, water quality, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and recreation.
We can help you connect to grants from the USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service to assist with the cost of developing and implementing your stewardship plan.
Reforestation Implementation
We can implement all aspects of your reforestation plan.
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To start we cover all aspects of site preparation prior to planting including controlling invasive species and prescribed burning. We source seedlings from qualified nurseries grown from stock appropriate to your specific site and transport them to your site. We then plant the trees according to your specific reforestation plan with the utmost care and quality to ensure the best chances of survival.
We may implement appropriate measures to deter herbivory by deer and rodents, and finally, we will monitor survival rates for the first three years and replant as needed to ensure adequate stocking rates.
Pro-forestation and Reforestation
Our best hope in addressing the threat of climate change is preserving the world’s existing forests and reforesting impacted forest land. We are committed to advocating in the strongest possible terms for the conservation and preservation of existing mature forest ecosystems.
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We are determined to find innovative ways to revalue our forests so they are more valuable as intact forests than being converted to developed land.
We specialize in planning and implementing the reforestation of impacted forest land with a focus on replanting forests affected by severe wildfire.
We design and implement afforestation projects on under utilized or marginal farm and pasture lands. These lands were likely forested in the past but were converted to farm-pasture some time in the last 100 years. Currently these lands may have become neglected or under utilized and are not meeting their highest potential. We would like to plant these lands back to forest for the benefit of the landowner as well as to promote carbon sequestration and wildlife habitat.
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We have an ongoing afforestation project across western Oregon as it is one of the world's best tree growing regions. Planting and maintaining forests in this region for the purpose of promoting carbon sequestration has the potential to mitigate global climate change.
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This project entails planting forests on under utilized, marginal, or abandoned land that is outside of the forest zoning region. There is minimal cost to the landowner as this project is funded through a consortium of partner organizations.
Please contact us for more information if you are interested in planting a forest on your land.
Community Outreach + Education
Integral to our commitment to the preservation and enhancement of the world’s forests is our connection to and partnership with the communities that rely on the many ecosystem services that forests provide. We understand that a community’s relationship with a forest is essential to the health and preservation of that forest.
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We believe good quality comprehensive education about the crucial role that forests play in the health of the entire planet’s ecosystems is necessary in order to achieve a sustainable balance between human activity and the natural environment.
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We promote and host workshops and retreats that offer participants an opportunity to learn about ecological forestry and reconnect with forest ecosystems.