Free Earth Day trees from Lowe's on April 23, 2011

Good news! I called last night to confirm that my local Lowe's Home Improvement is participating in the Earth Day tree giveaway. To help save the planet they are spearheading an effort to plant 1 million trees. All of the Knoxville, TN area locations are participating. Eart Day trees are also available in outlying areas such as LaFollette and Jefferson City.


Like my bucket garden, planting a free tree is an easy way to go green. Earth day is always a good reminder that we should recycle. Festivals can also be good places to get tips or trade in potentially harmful items. Last week we were able to recycle our plastic grocery sacks and trade in old lightbulbs at EarthFest in Knoxville. However, few things can top the free Earth Day trees from Lowe's.


The trees are flying out the doors. By 1:15 pm the Lowe's in Jefferson City said they were down to about 8 trees. To get one all you need to do is walk in and ask. After you plant your Earth Day tree, log into the Lowe's website and complete the online registration form. Their online map shows where trees have been planted so far and how many of them are in the ground.

Those numbers are only as accurate as the data is reported. As you can see from the screenshot blow, when it comes to reporting on our Earth Day trees from Lowe’s our Knoxville area needs some TLC.

The numbers will probably go up later in the day. It will be fun to keep checking back to see how high the final total reaches. This is a good learning tool to teach kids about the importance of Earth sustainability and what it means to us all.

I am surprised to learn that giving away trees isn’t the only way that Lowe’s helps the environment. What some may view as an Earth Day publicity stunt seems to be a way of business for this company.


In 2010, Lowe’s received both the Energy Star Award for Sustained Excellence and the EPA WaterSense Partner of the Year Award. Earth Day is year round for this company.

Lowe’s has a corporate policy on sustainability and has a firm stance on responsible wood sourcing and becoming a more sustainable business.  More information on these policies can be found online.

This day and age we hear about companies that shirk their corporate responsibilities. It’s nice to see companies like Lowe’s lead by example. Their Earth Day tree offer is too good for me to pass up. After our last storm, I have space in the yard that is just begging for a new tree.