Bemidji Households Can Claim Up to 70 Free Tree Seedlings This May
Pre-order up to 70 free seedlings from 7 species for May 16 pickup at the Sanford Center, part of a 10,000-tree drive after last summer's windstorm.
Ten thousand free tree seedlings are heading to Bemidji this May, and each household can pre-order up to 70 of them before pickup day at the Sanford Center.
Let's Plant Trees, a regional reforestation nonprofit, added Bemidji to its spring distribution after co-founder Mike Nicklow heard directly from community members pushing for a local stop. The effort is aimed squarely at the canopy damage left by the June 2025 windstorm, giving residents a free, concrete way to start replacing lost trees this season.
Pickup is Saturday, May 16 at the Sanford Center from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Any stock remaining after pre-orders are fulfilled will be available walk-up on Sunday, May 17. Both days are rain-or-shine.
Seven species are on offer: red pine, white pine, tamarack, yellow birch, white cedar, red oak, and burr oak. The seedlings come from Farm & Forest Growers, a cooperative using southern Minnesota seed sources selected for climate adaptability in northern-woods conditions. The species variety is deliberate: a mixed canopy resists disease and drought far better than a monoculture replacement, which matters in a region where a single storm can wipe out decades of uniform plantings.
Quantities are limited, and organizers are urging households to pre-order through the Let's Plant Trees website rather than counting on the walk-up day. Seedlings need to go into the ground promptly and receive consistent watering through their first summer to survive.
Let's Plant Trees is also holding a separate distribution for Grand Rapids residents on May 30.
This article was produced by Prism’s automated news system from verified source data, official records, and press releases, then run through automated quality and moderation checks before publishing. The system is built and supervised by the people who set the standards it runs under. Read our full AI policy.
Did this article answer your question?
