Meridith Perkins is the Executive Director of Forest ReLeaf, an organization whose mission is to enrich communities by growing and planting trees through the power of people and partnerships.
This conversation with Meridith focuses on Forest ReLeaf’s tornado response efforts, how the organization partners with community members, and what questions Forest ReLeaf is exploring as they work to build the “tree canopy of [their] dreams.
A: Can you discuss the value that a robust tree canopy brings to communities?
A community tree canopy supports the people who live there. We can connect trees to so many social, economic, and environmental benefits. When planted strategically, particular trees can be used in particular places to target specific neighborhood priorities. In St. Louis, many of our planting projects center around goals associated with reducing negative effects of heat, improving air and water quality, and creating welcoming places for people to connect. The resulting canopy can also influence other positive outcomes like improved public health, reduced stress, less crime, thriving business districts and more. When a tree canopy is planted with purpose and maintained with care, it is an essential asset to overall quality of life in cities.
Q: Forest ReLeaf has been deploying a relief program in the wake of natural disasters around Missouri since the 2012 Joplin tornado. How has Forest ReLeaf’s work changed since the May 16th, 2025 tornado.
This recent tornado uniquely impacted the lives of the people in our backyard, our community in St. Louis. Our work became more embedded in community response — not just supporting replanting, but supporting recovery on the ground. With the tornado, we also have a PR problem because trees are part of the problem. However, we’ve dealt with similar issues previously where people have other tree-related issues that they need support with, whether that’s cutting limbs down, removing dead trees, etc.
So, the tornado was just an added element of the real issue, which is that we need to have a holistic tree program. We understand the challenges, and expense, associated with taking care of mature trees, and we need to bring solutions that support the city and residents. We have been really evolving our program to grow from just planting the trees, to planting the trees, stewarding them, watering them, and making sure community members understand the value of trees and can decide which tree species will be ideal for their desired future outcomes.
Q: How does Forest ReLeaf engage with community members in its work?
Rebecca Hankins, our Partnerships Manager, joined Forest ReLeaf in 2020, and has really brought us into conversation with communities – going into neighborhood association meetings, answering questions, being a resource. We need resident input at every level to be successful – we don’t want to plant trees on the sledding hill or where people are going to be playing soccer. We also work hard to create meaningful engagement opportunities through volunteering, art, and events to bring more people into the mission.
What we kept hearing in our conversations is that people need trees that fit their needs and lifestyles, and they need support to maintain them. Through programs like Treesilience, we help remove dead or dangerous trees from private property, replant with species that residents choose, and educate people on the benefits of different types of trees. This approach removes the ‘burden’ of trees and creates community buy-in.
Q: What is Forest ReLeaf’s post-tornado tree planting strategy?
We are resisting the urge to just plant thousands of trees right away. We’ve lost thousands in Forest Park alone — and probably twice as many citywide — and instead of hastily replanting, we want to rebuild intentionally.
When a neighborhood is burned by a wildfire, you’re going to build the community center of your dreams when you have an opportunity to build it. So, instead of responding sporadically, we want to build the tree canopy of our dreams. I think St. Louis has the potential for that, and we have positive momentum, and we have strong government and non-profit partnerships.
Everyone’s on board, but unfortunately, the canopy of our dreams takes 20 plus years to grow. We’re trying to respond as quickly as possible to meet the need, while also ensuring on-going maintenance to maximize success.
Q: What are some of the major questions you’re exploring as you rebuild?
There are plenty of environment and climate related questions: What are the trees that are going to best collect pollution? What are the trees that are going to mitigate our urban heat island? What are the trees that the city can maintain? If we’re replanting an entire park, what are the best planting practices for people, nature, climate, and sustainable maintenance? Which species combinations will thrive the longest?
There are also public infrastructure questions: How can we plan better? How do we get sidewalks that work with trees? All this research is out there across different cities, but how do you build those policies? How do you reward people for having trees in their backyard? How do you compensate people for maintaining the one canopy tree that’s supporting five houses? There are a lot of questions that are not in the natural resources space that will come up throughout the city’s tornado response efforts.
We’re trying to be as thoughtful about replanting as possible, because we’re in it for the long game
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To learn more about Forest ReLeaf’s tornado relief efforts, please find additional information in this STLPR article.