Green Bay Reporter

The Green Bay Packers and Green Bay Packaging Inc. marked the 14th year of the "First Downs for Trees" program on Tuesday by planting a tree at Amelia Cornelius Culture Park in Oneida.

As part of the Packers' Green Team initiatives, the program donates trees to participating Brown County communities based on the number of first downs scored by the Packers in the previous season.

Green Bay Packaging, Inc., the program's corporate partner, funded the planting of 402 trees in 16 Brown County communities this spring.

Two nurseries, Meacham Nursery and Leaves Inspired, supplied the trees this year. The species planted include elm, maple, lilac, oak, honey locust, and flowering crab trees.

This year's recipients were Allouez, Ashwaubenon, Bellevue, Brown County, De Pere, Green Bay, Hobart, Howard, Lawrence, Ledgeview, Morrison, Oneida, Pulaski, Scott, Suamico and Wrightstown.

The program receives administrative support from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Wisconsin Public Service.

First Downs for Trees complements the team's recycling and landfill diversion programs at Lambeau Field by targeting carbon emissions from the Packers' air charters to road games. These emissions are approximately 450 tons annually.

Since its inception in 2011, 7,194 trees have been planted through the program. These trees provide total lifetime benefits estimated at nearly $34 million through stormwater runoff reduction, CO2 reduction, energy savings, air quality improvement and property value increase. Over their lifetime, these benefits exceed planting and care costs by a significant margin—representing a 300 percent return on investment. The benefits of these trees increase over time with proper maintenance and protection.