“There is not a person alive who should not plant a tree — not for the shade that you’ll enjoy, but for those who are coming after.”— Milton Hershey
We have long known the importance of trees to our communities, to future generations and to our business. From cleaning air, to diverting water runoff, to promoting thriving ecosystems, to providing shade for our family picnics, trees do a whole lot for our environment over the course of their lives.
That’s why it’s critical to partner with civil society, governments and communities to reforest in communities across the globe. It’s also why we’ve committed to agroforestry and reforestation throughout our cocoa supply chain through the Cocoa and Forests Initiative and most recently have partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation to plant trees across the United States.
Arbor Day Foundation and The Hershey Company Partner to Reforest in the United States
In 2017, Hershey and the Arbor Day Foundation announced a reforestation partnership dedicated to repairing national forests in the United States.
This partnership resulted in the planting of 130,000 trees to benefit the Paul Van Booven Wildlife Area (KY), South Quay Sandhills Preserve (VA) and the Sansavilla Wildlife Management Area (GA). The reasons for planting are varied:
Over the course of the next 50 years, these trees will have an impact well beyond their local community:
And this is just the beginning. We are committed to protecting our planet’s forests and natural ecosystems, and we will continue to build programs and enhance policies – working with local governments and civil society – to make sure we are doing our part to protect these precious natural resources in our communities.