Tree Crop Solutions of Brattleboro will offer a free public film screening and acorn distribution in the Main Reading Room of the Brooks Memorial Library at 224 Main Street in Brattleboro. Filmmaker Lisa Merton will be present for the documentary Taking Root, a collaborative project with her filmaking partner Alan Dater of Marlboro Productions. The film follows the work of Noble Prize winner Wangari Maathai, the founder of the Green Belt Movement who helped transform the nation of Kenya through her planting of trees. Her work inspired the UN's Plant a Trillion Trees effort, which a recent UN Climate report lists as one of the most important things that can be done to fight climate change by removing an "astonishing" amount of greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere. Maathai had many connections to this area, and she planted a tree at Oak Grove Elementary School.

Following the screening, Rolf Parker of Tree Crop Solutions in Brattleboro will provide select acorns and other tree nuts, plus advice on how to plant and care for a tree this fall and winter, including information about land in the area where people can plant trees. Parker, a former staffer at the Massachusetts Cooperative Extension service and UMass forest entomology program, will also share information about other ways to support the Trillion Tree initiative, such as making a tree pledge, becoming part of the Trillion Tree Campaign team, and learning how to purchase and protect rainforest land through the Arbor Day Foundation. There will be time at the end of the screening to network with other tree and planet enthusiasts about how to make tree planting an exciting activity in our group effort to fight global warming.

This free public program is a collaborative offering from Tree Crop Solutions, Youth Services, Food Connects, and the Brooks Memorial Library.

Nov 20, 2024, 3 to 4 PM

Nov 20, 2024, 5:30 to 7:30 PM

Nov 21, 2024, 4 to 4:45 PM