People helping people

How Can I Help?

Bring your water bottles. Learn to grow baby trees. Share them in your community.

Come to a future Free Baby TREES event and learn hands-on skills: collecting seeds, taking cuttings, turning used water bottles into miniature greenhouses, and caring for young trees.

I Want to Help See Planned Giveaways

See how we grow baby trees

Bring your bottles, learn to prepare them safely, and practice growing plants from seeds and cuttings.

A recycled water bottle acting as a miniature greenhouse — Make a miniature greenhouse from a recycled bottle.

Seeds planted in individual growing cells — Learn to plant seeds in growing trays.

Tiny seedlings emerging from seed trays — Watch young seedlings emerge.

Plant cutting growing inside a reused plastic bottle — Try growing cuttings in a protected container.

Rows of plants on shelves inside a small greenhouse — See what a small growing area can become.

Easy ways to participate

Bring something. Learn something. Grow something.

♻️ 1. Bring clean water bottles

Save your empty, clean plastic water bottles with caps. Bring them to a confirmed event or contact us to arrange a drop-off. We'll demonstrate how to prepare them for growing seedlings and cuttings.

🌰 2. Share seeds and acorns

Have a tree producing seeds, seedpods, or acorns? Tell us what kind and where it grows. Collect only with the property owner's permission, and keep each species labeled. Seed collection seasons vary.

✂️ 3. Learn to take cuttings

See how to select healthy plant material, make a clean cutting with sanitized tools, and prepare it for rooting. Not every species roots from cuttings; we'll demonstrate appropriate methods for each plant.

🌱 4. Make a bottle greenhouse

Learn how to clean a bottle, safely trim it, add drainage and ventilation as appropriate, fill it with suitable growing medium, and use it to protect a young plant while it establishes.

💧 5. Help care for baby trees

Learn watering, light, labeling, potting up, and how to tell when a seedling is ready for a larger container or an appropriate planting site.

❤️ 6. Share them in your community

Help at a giveaway, connect us with schools or community groups, offer growing space, or invite a local business to sponsor a batch of baby trees.

For safety, adults will handle sharp cutting tools at demonstrations. Bottles are not sealed airtight in direct sun; seedlings need appropriate ventilation, drainage, and monitoring. Please don't bring diseased plant material.

Three communities, three trees

Help grow the trees your community loves

🍷 Sacramento — Cork Oaks

Help gather permitted acorns and connect with wine lovers and wineries interested in supporting local growing programs.

🌳 San Francisco Bay Area — Strawberry Trees

Help care for and distribute strawberry trees, and bring clean bottles for the next generation.

💜 Santa Barbara — Jacarandas

Help us grow and eventually return baby jacarandas to the community where their seeds were collected.

Events, locations, quantities, and teaching sessions are being planned; participation is subject to confirmation.

We'd love to meet you

Tell us how you'd like to help

Complete this short form so we can contact you when an event or learning opportunity is confirmed near you.

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