Baton Rouge Green is making the most of the last few weeks of winter. Since February, the nonprofit has planted more than 150 trees, with another 80 to 100 slated for downtown before the season ends. And this is only the beginning. 

Keep reading for an update on the long-awaited I-10/12 Split Tree Replanting and the organization’s progress on its 1,000 Tree Challenge.

The interstate replanting is beginning to take root.

Late February marked a milestone a decade in the making with the launch of Phase I of the I-10/12 Split Tree Replanting project.

During the development of the interstate widening project, DOTD committed to a 2:1 reimbursement for the 256 trees uprooted to make way for the new College Drive exit and additional roadway. Now, 10 years later, the College Drive exit and interchange widening is complete.

Baton Rouge Green is fulfilling its promise to replant twice as many trees as were removed for construction. Over the next three years, Baton Rouge Green’s arborists will plant over 400 trees across six sites.

In February, the organization’s arborists planted 76 of the largest-growing trees at the interchange. The full design, created by CARBO Landscape Architecture, calls for over 400 trees in a sprawling arrangement using six native species. Arborists will plant the remaining small and medium trees in phases over the next two winters. 

“With a large-scale planting such as this, we are taking it slow and learning from the site as we go in order to achieve maximum success,” explains Christopher Cooper, Baton Rouge Green’s director of operations and lead arborist. “We’re thrilled about the opportunity to completely transform one of the most important crossroads in the state. This is a 100% native species plant palette specifically curated to complement the bottomland hardwood forest of the adjacent Ward Creek.”

As for the difference between the 400 currently planned for the I-10/I-12 split and the more than 500 funded by DOTD, Baton Rouge Green will plant an additional 100 trees on other sites along I-10 in the coming years.

“We absolutely wanted to get 500-plus trees replanted at this critical juncture in our city, but space and safety restrictions didn’t allow for it,” explains Sage Foley, executive director of Baton Rouge Green. “Which just means we get to spread that good work a little further down the road.” Those plans are still in the works, Foley added.

Staring Lane is the latest beneficiary of the 1,000 Tree Challenge.

In March, the organization continued to tackle its 1,000 Tree Challenge by planting 81 trees along the Staring Lane median between Perkins and Highland Roads. The organization launched the initiative in 2022 to plant an additional 1,000 roadway trees and to raise the funds to maintain them in perpetuity through the Living Roadways Program.

“The Staring corridor has been ripe for more greenery since they widened it a decade ago,” says Magnolia Woods resident Lauren Michaud Knotts. “My neighbors and I are tickled pink to have more trees breaking up what otherwise looks and feels like a highway in our backyard.”

A first-ever state appropriation for Baton Rouge Green, spearheaded by Senator Franklin Foil, secured funding for the planting project and the first year of establishment maintenance for the new installation.

As of the Staring Lane planting, the organization has planted 355 of its 1,000 trees and raised about $750,000 toward ongoing maintenance.

“When the community supports us with donations, it should be evident where their dollars went. The projects we do are right here for them to enjoy,” Foley says. “Trees are an answer and a solution for so many issues—human health, flood protection, ecological health, quality of life, blight, food insecurity … So investing in community trees is about the most bang for your buck you can get!”

Learn more about the 1,000 Tree Challenge in this story from our archives, and follow @batonrougegreen on Instagram for more information, including project updates and volunteer opportunities.