Tree Captains are local volunteer leaders working to enhance the health of Treasure Valley neighborhoods through tree planting, advocacy, and stewardship.

A collage of five images showing community outdoor activities. The first image shows a group of people with shovels and children outdoors in a grassy area. The second image features a boy planting a tree with yellow leaves. The third shows two women, one wearing glasses, smiling and holding a dirt mound together. The fourth image depicts an outdoor booth with a green tablecloth labeled 'Treasure Valley Canopy Network,' where two people are standing behind the table. The fifth shows two women measuring the circumference of a tree trunk with a tape measure.

Fio, Boise Tree Captain Class of 2024

“The way tree captains facilitate tree planting ensures they’re planted as correctly as possible and will survive long-term. It’s a community effort—neighborhoods coming together to care for each other and the environment. That in itself is such a cool initiative.“

Group of four people planting a young tree in a backyard on a sunny day. Two women and a man are smiling and holding shovels, with a child in the middle also smiling. There are trees and a fence in the background.

  • Support your community’s tree planting efforts: City of Boise’s Elaine Clegg City of Trees Challenge and TVCN’s Treasure Valley Tree Equity Project that provide free and discounted trees for homes across Idaho.

  • Talk to people within your community to identify tree planting sites.

  • Utilize your training to help participants with selecting the right tree for their home. 

  • Educate tree recipients about young tree care.

  • Volunteer at spring & fall tree planting events to make sure all trees are delivered and planted.

  • Serve as a valuable resource to your friends and neighbors in planting and caring for new trees.

  • Join Trees Idaho at public outreach events to help educate the public.

  • Have fun!

what does a tree captain do?

become a tree captain!

Interested in taking action in your community? Apply to join us as a Tree Captain!

Tree Captain applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Trees Idaho staff will follow up directly to schedule a training date.

Two people planting a tree, both are pouring soil from orange buckets around the base of a young sapling, in a grassy area near a chain-link fence.
People planting a tree in a backyard on a sunny day.
Group of people standing outdoors on a grassy field, posing for a photo near a large tree, with some wearing matching gray t-shirts with a logo, in a park setting.