The Blacksburg Big Plant 2026 – more info

Who: All ages and abilities welcome! Whether a forester or first-time tree planter, we welcome you!
We need field leaders to supervise tree planters and quality control check so we can have happy, healthy trees–sign up above
Tools will be provided to all volunteers and field leaders. Bring your own weather-appropriate gear, water, snacks, and closed-toe footwear.

When: Saturday & Sunday, March 28th & 29th; shifts from 10am to 1pm, 2 am to 5pm

Where:

Saturday @ Heritage Community Park and Natural Area, 2300 Glade Rd

Park at the southern entrance to Heritage Park at 2300 Glade Rd, Blacksburg, VA

Overflow parking may be available at Rising Silo. Please carpool as parking is limited.

Sunday @ Smithfield Historic Plantation

Park in “the Cage” Duck Pond Lot, along Smithfield Plantation Road, or in lot behind greenhouse space. Please carpool as parking is limited. See map below:

Sign Up Here

The Radford Big Plant 2026 – more info

Where: Bisset Park, Radford, VA
When: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, March 20th, 21st, and 22nd
Who: All ages and abilities welcome! Whether a forester or first-time tree planter, we welcome you!

Tools will be provided to all volunteers. Bring your own weather-appropriate gear, water, snacks, and closed-toe footwear.

Sign Up Here

“The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, the second best time is now”

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History of the Big Plant

Ecological Restoration Collaborative’s stream restoration effort “sprung its roots” in 2014 with a 0.5-acre riparian buffer planting on Stroubles Creek. Since then, many partners and community members have joined together over a shared goal of protecting and restoring local waters and streamside habitat.

• 2019: Ibrahim Mohamed of the Environmental Coalition at Virginia Tech and Tom Saxton of Stroubles Creek Coalition partner to establish the first annual Big Plant. 300 volunteers plant 2,000 bare root seedlings at Paris Mountain Farm, 4,000 live stakes on Stroubles Creek near Foxridge, and 200 oaks near the New River Junction.

• 2020: 800 volunteers plant 12,050 trees on Stroubles Creek.

• 2021: 7,500 trees planted on Stroubles Creek.

• 2022: 8,950 trees planted on Holtan Branch by The Environmental Coalition at Virginia Tech and 500 volunteers led by Emily Philpott. 500 trees planted on Stroubles Creek by Stream Lab At VT / Virginia Tech Biological Systems Engineering led by Dr. Cully Hession. 200 native shrubs given away to local community members for planting around the Blacksburg region at their homes.

• 2023: 700+ volunteers plant 10,000 trees on Stroubles Creek.

• 2024: 500+ volunteers plant 14,200 trees of 35 different native species on Stroubles Creek.

• 2025: Hundreds of volunteers plant 3,610 native trees and shrubs across 37 native species (1,000 at Virginia Tech’s Stadium Woods and 2,610 at Stroubles Creek).

  Radford kicks off their inaugural Big Plant at Bisset Park on the banks of the New River. Event led by partners Nursery Natives, New River Conservancy, and Feeding Appalachia. 150+ volunteers plant 100+ container-grown native trees across 45 different species.

• 2026: Ecological Restoration Collaborative & Partners join together for the eighth annual Blacksburg Big Plant and the second annual Radford Big Plant.

Partners:

• Ecological Restoration Collaborative
• The New River Conservancy
• Watershed Restore LLC
• VA Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ)
• Nursery Natives
• Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF)
• Environmental Coalition at Virginia Tech
• AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC)
• Virginia Tech Office of Sustainability
• Stream Lab at Virginia Tech
• Virginia Tech Biological Systems Engineering
• Virginia Tech Urban Forestry
• Radford Parks and Recreation
• City of Radford
• VT Urban Horticulture Center
• Nature Foundation at Wintergreen

Thank you to all of our partners who make this possible, and to all of the dedicated individuals and volunteer groups who support this epic tree planting endeavor year after year!