If your neighborhood seems shadier in the next few years, you may have Re-Tree BG to thank.

The grassroots group gave tree saplings and bags of mulch to 100 Bowling Green and Warren County residents during their third tree giveaway since December 2021.

In all, they’ve given well over 300 trees.

Clara Verst, one of the group’s founders, said it’s the biggest giveaway since tornadoes damaged swaths of Bowling Green’s tree canopy almost two years ago.

“We’re really, really glad,” Verst said. “We’ve also got a bunch of people already for spring.”

The group handed out a total of 120 trees, sourced from Morgan Tree Farm in Scottsville, Dropseed Nursery in Goshen, Highland Brook Nursery in Elkton and Tommy’s Nursery in Portland, Tennessee.

Volunteers spent months preparing for the event, surveying the properties of every recipient to determine what trees would best fit their space. They expanded to include the entire county in response to windstorms earlier this year.

They offered dozens of varieties, including six types of oaks, three types of maples, birches, pines and more, all free to recipients.

Local members of Alpha Kappa Alpha, a historically Black intercollegiate sorority, were among volunteers passing out trees for the second time.

Members Barbara Pollock and Lynneta Glass and chairperson Lynn Darnes said one of their ongoing service platforms is enhancing the environment.

Pollock said it was a “beautiful day” to be out doing something good for both neighbors and the environment. She said trees, in a sense, “make you able to breathe again” in a city.

Glass added the work goes a long way as people still pick up the pieces from the 2021 tornadoes.

“People are still trying to recover from a loss of their homes, trees and everything,” Glass said. “I guess everyone’s in a good place right now to start getting the yards back in order, after the storms and after rebuilding.”

They each said the giveaway is a great chance to give back, and they’d love to see more volunteers in the future.

“Everybody has something to give,” Pollock said. “Anybody can come out here and give that lift a little bit.”

Julie Wedge, who lives around Euclid Avenue, lost several trees to a tornado and more to subsequent storms. She and her daughter came to pick up a young white oak in their van.

“They came out and did a site visit, and my daughter said, ‘it’s harder to get a tree than it is to adopt,’ “she joked. “They came out to the house to make sure we had space for it and check us out before we came here, so it’s a nice setup.”

She added they were surprisingly impressed with their experience with Re-Tree, despite being made up of around a dozen volunteers.

“We didn’t realize it was gonna be such a big setup, so we’re very thankful,” Wedge said.

Verst said the group will likely scale back to cover only Bowling Green in coming giveaways, due to the need for volunteers and donations. Donations are always accepted through the Operation PRIDE link on their Facebook.

She added that sign-ups will soon begin for their spring giveaway through their Facebook. Volunteers and recipients can inquire at retreebg@gmail.com.