Volunteers plant 100 trees at Bemidji's BRIC after storm damage

Volunteers planted 100 trees at BRIC’s campus along Fifth Street NW, a concrete step in Bemidji’s recovery from the June 21, 2025 storm that damaged Beltrami County and left the area with far less tree cover.

Great River Greening partnered with the Bemidji Regional Interdistrict Council on the project, bringing community volunteers to 1615 Fifth St. NW from 1 to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, June 2. BRIC serves 11 member school districts across about 8,000 square miles in north central Minnesota, making the campus a regional center for special education services as well as a familiar site for many Beltrami County families.

The planting came after a storm that county officials said was severe enough to trigger a state of emergency the same day it hit. Later estimates put the damage in Beltrami County at about $8.3 million. County and city leaders were still dealing with cleanup while FEMA relief remained out of reach because the statewide damage estimate did not meet the federal threshold.

A volunteer posting tied to the project said many areas around Bemidji, including BRIC, lost an estimated 9 million trees in the summer of 2025. That loss left a visible gap in the landscape around schools, homes and public spaces, where shade, wind protection and healthier ground cover all matter. On BRIC’s grounds, the new trees are meant to help rebuild that canopy and make the campus more resilient over time.

The work also reflects the scale of the organization’s reach. BRIC describes itself as a special education cooperative formed in 1969 by local schools to provide a full range of specialized services to children on a district level. Its member districts stretch across north central Minnesota, so the condition of the Bemidji site affects families well beyond the city limits.

Great River Greening says it has spent more than 30 years engaging the public in environmental stewardship, and the Bemidji planting fit that model. The project turned a volunteer day into a long-term restoration effort on a campus still marked by the storm, with the new trees intended to stand as part of the recovery rather than a temporary show of support.