If you’re shopping for a new Husqvarna chainsaw this fall, Tractor Supply stores can help you turn that purchase into a tree-planting contribution, too. Earlier this month, Tractor Supply Company® (TSC) announced a new partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation® that will directly benefit the Foundation’s hurricane reforestation efforts. For every Husqvarna chainsaw purchase made in Tractor Supply stores nationwide or on its website, five trees will be planted within a forest of need in areas that were severely affected by last year’s hurricanes, including Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico.
Tractor Supply has committed to donating up to 50,000 trees. The hurricane recovery initiative will run through Oct. 28, 2018. It comes approximately one year after Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria left lasting damage in parts of the southeastern U.S., Texas and Puerto Rico.
“The havoc of last year’s hurricane season is still evident in many ways, including in the natural landscapes of affected communities, and we as a company are committed to ongoing recovery efforts through our Stewardship Program, which is the company’s environmental sustainability initiative,” said Ben Parrish, executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at Tractor Supply. “It is a privilege for us to support the Arbor Day Foundation’s efforts to help make our communities and our world cleaner and greener.”
Regarding the impacts of the recent Hurricane Florence to areas of the southeastern U.S., Parrish says Tractor Supply and the Arbor Day Foundation established the framework of its new partnership prior to those developments. At the time, the Arbor Day Foundation identified a number of areas that are still dealing with the severe damage of 2017’s hurricanes and in need of new trees in order to help with recovery.
“Tractor Supply committed its support and funding to those areas, which is where it will remain for this current campaign,” Parrish says. “However, we are also taking part in Hurricane Florence recovery efforts by providing donations to local pet and animal organizations in communities that have been affected by Florence.”
The Arbor Day Foundation has committed to supplying five million trees to the reforestation efforts in Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico. The Foundation will work with local forestry experts who can assess the best time to replant trees and help distribute them to affected homeowners. Long-term reforestation benefits for the impacted communities include improved air quality, support of local wildlife habitats, better flood control and cleaner water, among others.
Founded in 1972, the Arbor Day Foundation has grown to become the largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees, with more than one million members, supporters and valued partners. Their vision is to help others understand and use trees as a solution to many of the global issues we face today, including air quality, water quality, climate change, deforestation, poverty and hunger. As one of the world’s largest operating conservation foundations, the Arbor Day Foundation, through its members, partners, and programs, educates and engages stakeholders and communities across the globe to involve themselves in its mission of planting, nurturing and celebrating trees.
“Replanting trees in areas that experienced such devastation is no small task, but it is certainly a critical one,” said Dan Lambe, president of the Arbor Day Foundation. “The support of Tractor Supply will help us bring beauty and hope back to the communities that so desperately need both.”
Tractor Supply customers can purchase Husqvarna chainsaws now through Oct. 28 to help fund reforestation efforts. The company offers six models of Husqvarna chainsaws and accompanying accessories in stores, with a larger selection available online at TractorSupply.com/Husqvarna. The trees funded by Tractor Supply’s Husqvarna hurricane recovery initiative will be planted in early 2019.
For more information on Tractor Supply’s Stewardship Program, visit tcstewardshipreport.com. You can read more about the Arbor Day Foundation and its hurricane tree recovery efforts by visiting ArborDay.org.
