Mission Statement
1 Beautify and reforest the Tampa Bay area through the planting of native trees.
2 Further public awareness about the merits of reforesting public lands.
3 Further public awareness about the planting and preserving of native trees and underutilized varieties of desirable trees of special interest.
4 Work in conjunction with, and in support of, other organizations of similar purpose.
5 Be a clearinghouse of scientific and educational information to the public on the merits of tree species selection for use in the Tampa Bay area in accordance with the intent of its I.R.S. tax-exempt 501 (c) (3) status.
History
The Tampa Bay Reforestation and Environmental Effort, Inc. (T.R.E.E., Inc.) is a non-profit tax exempt 501 (c) (3) organization dedicated to reforesting the greater Tampa Bay area of Florida. Founded in February, 1983, T.R.E.E. Inc. has among many other things:
- Planted over 245 reforesting projects.
- Donated and planted close to 43,500 native trees using an estimated 1,600 volunteers.
- Planted the first Famous and Historic Tree Grove at the Museum of Science and industry in Tampa in November, 1996.
- Planted 4,600 native trees in ten Florida Arbor Day projects on Interstate 75 in Hillsborough County from 1986 to 1996 using over 400 volunteers. This was an historically unprecedented accomplishment on a Florida Department of Transportation right of way.
- Published Recommended Design Guidelines for the I-75 Bypass in 1988 in conjunction with the Florida Department of transportation , the University of Florida Department of Landscape Architecture and the Tampa Parkway Association. This 212 page document was a comprehensive site analysis of the 53 mile long I-75 Bypass corridor in Hillsborough County east of Tampa, Florida.
- Fiscal Year 2004/2005 Florida Urban and Community Forestry Grant recipient Recipient of a $3,000 tree planting grant in 2005 from Esurance® the on-line auto insurance company.
All project planning, donations and tree planting have been at no cost to the public since its founding in 1983.
Board Of Directors
January-December 2006
President and Treasurer - William Moriaty:
A native of Tampa, Florida, Mr. Moriaty works for the State of Florida Department of Transportation as a Roadside Vegetation Coordinator. He is the original founder of the organization and currently lives with his wife Karen Cashon, and their two cats, Erin and Tezcatlipoca in Plant City, Florida.
Vice President - Bob Scheible:
A native of Miami, Mr. Scheible works as the primary Horticulturist for the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa. In addition to Moriaty, he is also a Founding Member of T.R.E.E. Inc., and was the horticulturist for the University of South Florida Botanical Gardens, Eureka Springs Park, and City of Tampa Parks Department, all in Tampa, Florida.
Secretary - Rick Strickland:
A native of Tallahassee, Florida, Rick has also admirably acted as T.R.E.E. Inc.'s volunteer coordinator since joining in 1995. Rick has been a School Social Worker for the School District of Hillsborough County for 18 years. He is a member of the School Social Workers, Church Choir of Christ the King Church and the Sierra Club, Tampa Bay Chapter. He lives with his wife Gabriela and daughter Andrea in Hillsborough County, Florida.
Registered Agent - Richard Bailey:
A native of Riverview, Florida, Richard is a professional Certified arborist who also runs a landscape contracting service and retail plant nursery. Amongst other things, Mr. Bailey was a state forester for Miami-Dade County, an urban forester for Tampa Electric Company, and President of the Florida Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture. He lives with his wife Donna and daughter Laurel in Riverview, Florida.
Lifetime Members
| William Moriaty (Founder) Bob Scheible (Founder) Greg Van Stavern (Founder) Greg Howe (Founder) Sheryl Bowman Cliff Brown Debbie Butts Dade City Garden Club Alice Earle (deceased) Dr. Sylvia Earle Ross J. Ferlita Hugh Gramling Horticultural Alliance, Inc. Harvey A. Hunt, P.E. William Jonson |
Brightman Logan Revello Medical Centers Rick Strickland Barbara Waddell (deceased) Dr. Richard Wunderlin Richard A. Bailey (Honorary) John L. Blechschmidt Jr. (Honorary) Nancy Buckley (Honorary) Bob Der (Honorary) Kathy Caffentzis (Honorary) Gary L. Henry, R.L.A. (Honorary) |