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As pressure on our city trees increases, Trees Atlanta receives more and more calls from communities across metro Atlanta each year. The City of Atlanta covers 134 square miles. One of our biggest projects, the Atlanta Beltline Arboretum, currently extends along 13 miles of trail and will grow to 22 miles by 2030. Trees Atlanta partners with cities, schools, and groups located in five counties and 14 municipalities in Metro Atlanta.

While the benefits of our work surpass the impact of so many miles driven, we continually strive to improve. Sustainability is fundamental to Trees Atlanta’s mission, so it’s important to us (and the environment) that how we operate demonstrates that ethos.

Giving Tuesday 2025 is December 2.

Our goal is $100,000 to Charge Forward to a Greener Fleet!

Charge forward with us as we evolve our working fleet. With your support, we are adding pedal power, downsizing some of our work vehicles, and leveraging our in-house, solar-generated electricity.

Trees Atlanta is advancing our commitment to sustainable solutions for improving air quality and helping cool our city in immediate ways, beyond planting thousands of trees each year and investing in renewable energy. This Giving Tuesday, will you join us to Charge Forward to a greener, healthier Atlanta?

Scroll down to read more about our move toward more solar-powered, electric operations.
Thank you to our generous Match Challenge Sponsors. Your gift may be doubled this Giving Tuesday!

Photo credits (L-R): Erin Sintos for Atlanta Beltline, Inc.; Trees Atlanta;  Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University; Trees Atlanta.

What is the Giving Tuesday 2025 Challenge for Trees Atlanta?

As our work fleet ages, our replacement plan includes using more electric vehicles and tools to further reduce our use of fossil fuels and lower emissions. Our Charge Forward strategy for a greener fleet includes:

• Two heavy-duty e-bikes with utility trailers and an electric “gator” (hauling utility vehicle) to take up less space on the Beltline trails and have enough carrying capacity for the tools needed by our Trees Atlanta Beltline Arboretum team for daily maintenance. The Beltline Arboretum spans 13 miles and 60 acres of greenspace to date. By next year, Trees Atlanta will oversee the maintenance of over 16 miles of arboretum spaces along the trail that will receive a worldwide audience as  FIFA World Cup visitors crowd the Beltline.
• Two compact electric cars, like the Nissan Leaf or a similar model, to replace the use of heavy trucks for local travel to on-site community meetings, scouting visits, and other trips. These electric cars reduce the use of gas, limit wear and tear on our larger vehicles, and keep our trucks available for project work.
• Battery-powered hand tools, including electric pole and mini chainsaws, hedge trimmers, and string trimmers, for tree pruning and arboretum maintenance to make each labor hour more efficient, while also minimizing noise and emissions.
• Electric charging infrastructure improvements to support the efficient charging of our electric vehicles and tools. This includes investments in additional high-capacity batteries and ongoing maintenance to properly maximize your investment.

☀️ As an added (and calculated) bonus, we are able to charge our electric gear with “free” electricity captured with our large array of solar panels that were installed and put into operation in early 2025 (through a solar energy grant.) Leveraging renewable energy also reduces our fuel costs. That means we can direct more funds towards what really matters: planting and caring for more trees and powering our community programs.

Match That Energy!

This Giving Tuesday, your donation can go even further with Matching Challenge funds from our generous supporters. This means each dollar you donate become two! If your employer also offers a matching gift program, your dollar may go even further.

Every day in November and through Giving Tuesday (December 2, 2025), our generous Match Challenge Sponsors have collectively committed to matching up to $17,500 raised for Trees Atlanta. Match Challenge funds get released as we reach each milestone. Thank you to Georgia Power Foundation, Southwire, and Georgia’s Own Credit Union!

Let’s Charge Forward together!

Cleaner energy to power work in the Beltline Arboretum

At Trees Atlanta, e-bikes will be quipped with lightweight aluminum trailers with reinforced flooring and tool brackets to make travel and transport easy for our Beltline Arboretum team. An electric utility vehicle (“gator”) will add even more heavy duty power in a smaller form matching the needs of work in the arboretum. The crew will be able to move tools, mulch, and young trees along the trail and off-trail to hard-to-access areas in the arboretum. The e-bike and gator’s compact form takes up less space on the Beltline, which is quickly becoming more crowded as its popularity and use increase, a great sign of its success!

Our friends at the 281-acre Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University began using electric cargo bikes capable of carrying over 400 pounds. These bikes helped them limit the number of large trucks traversing the arboretum roads and reduce the noise and tailpipe exhaust from those trucks. The photo above shows their e-bike setup that we hope to model. (Photo courtesy of Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University.)

We will also acquire high-voltage, high capacity lithium-ion batteries to keep these e-bikes powered through a work day. These batteries will help extend the bike’s range and provide the higher power needed to carry heavy loads, climb hills, and travel long distances. The electric utility infrastructure at our headquarters will be improved to accommodate multiple chargers, and keeping e-bikes, electric tools, and electric vehicles powered.

The electric transport options will be used by Trees Atlanta Beltline Arboretum staff on trail segments closest to our headquarters. The work will expand to other sections as we determine how practical and efficient this approach is for maintaining different sections of the Atlanta Beltline Arboretum. The Beltline Arboretum will follow the entire 22 miles of the Atlanta Beltline, plus additional connecting trails, upon completion. Looking longer-term, the care and maintenance of the Arboretum will be an ongoing effort to ensure generations of healthy growth.

Why Greener Transportation Matters

Every day, implementing greener solutions becomes increasingly more important. You helped launch our journey by adding two electric trucks to our fleet in 2023. In 18 months, these trucks have traveled 14,000 emission-free miles already!

Every small change can have a big impact. By introducing electric cargo bikes for our working fleet, our Beltline Arboretum team can reach more areas of the trail quickly and efficiently, improving how we care for trees and landscapes. Cleaner modes of transportation mean cleaner air for people and for trees and a reduction in pollutants that stress Atlanta’s urban forest and warm our neighborhoods.

Electric options also make practical sense. They cost less to operate and maintain, freeing up more resources for tree planting, forest restoration, and education programs. Investing in alternative modes of transportation can help us redirect limited funds towards growing and protecting Atlanta’s tree canopy.

We are grateful for your support, energy, and encouragement to improve the community we share. Thank you! Let’s Charge Forward together.

Published on: November 1, 2025