Millennials Join Grassroots Movement, Planting Trees across the US

Tonight, millennials join Restore the Earth Foundation for happy hour at Bayou, launching a movement that allows them to invest in the environment at their own pace, on their own time, and with their friends: Groundswell.

Groundswell brings online crowdfunding directly to the next generation donor through a series of happy hours. Starting in Washington, DC tonight and spreading to New Orleans, LA next month, the campaign will tree-raise for project sites in critical states of degradation in the Mississippi River Basin.

When: At 5:30pm (EDT) tonight, millennials looking for a way to invest in their own future can do so, one tree at a time.

Where: Bayou, 2519 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20037. Entry costs $15 and includes a drink ticket. Or, individuals can give $35 to plant a tree before the event and enter for free.

For every $35 tree-raised tonight, 1 tree is planted, degraded lands are restored, forests are re-established, and coastal communities are protected. Plant 10 trees with friends, and restore an entire acre of critical ecosystems.

The Mississippi River Basin is the third largest river basin on Earth and home to critical ecosystems that impact all of North America and the Earth’s climate. The forest that surrounds the Mississippi River Basin provides the essential ecosystem services we need to survive, including the fresh air we breathe every day.

The forest regulates rainstorms and heat waves, marking the seasons for all the creatures that depend on it. It is home and market to an array of wildlife, from soaring songbirds to tiny marine organisms. With only 20% of priority forest remaining, the communities that live near these regions are some of the most underserved in the country and they are at risk.

Tonight, trees will be planted in Montegut, LA, and Atchafalaya Delta, LA. Register to join the Groundswell movement and learn more about how to invest in the future of the next generation.

About Restore the Earth Foundation, Inc.

Restore the Earth Foundation, Inc. (REF) is a nonprofit organization restoring the Earth’s essential forest and wetland ecosystems. Our unique approach employs landscape-scale ecosystem restoration, leverages the power of public-private partnerships, utilizes an exclusive revolving self-funding mechanism, and provides verifiable measurement of projects’ environmental, social and economic impact.

Since 2008, the founders of REF have secured over $20 million in federal/state and private funding to reforest over 40,000 acres along the Gulf Coast damaged by Hurricane Katrina. REF was the first to deploy restoration on oil soiled wetlands following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. REF continues its restoration of forest and wetland ecosystems along the Gulf Coast, and has recently expanded its efforts. REF is committed to restoring one million acres of degraded lands in the Mississippi River Basin—North America’s Amazon—to its natural state. Learn more at www.restoretheearth.org.

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