Miles of Trees, a Climate Ride beneficiary, raises funds through the active participation in marathons and long-distance bike rides to conduct reforestation projects and farmer-support programs in Haiti. Miles of Trees plants one tree per mile, and since their start in 2011, they’ve planted over 10,000 trees!
This Saturday, the team will be at the Virginia Beach City Parks & Rec local Earth Day event, where they will be planting flower seeds, promoting the Miles of Trees program, recruiting riders for their Climate Ride team and more! If you’re in the area, make sure to stop by and say hello. If you’re interested in joining the cause and can’t make the Earth Day event, reach out to their team captain Matthias by emailing info@cd-international.org
Matthias Resch (above right) co-founded Community Development International and later launched the Miles of Trees program in 2011. The program began by organizing an annual 4 day, 330 mile bike ride between Virginia Beach, where the organization is based, to New York City. Matthias then discovered Climate Ride in 2012, and has since continued to build support and raise funds for Miles of Trees through Climate Ride’s cycling events and Independent Challenge program. This will be his 5th Climate Ride event!
Magary (above left) and Katia (above middle) have been actively involved with the Miles of Trees program since 2013. As Haitians and cycling enthusiasts, they were immediately drawn to this opportunity to ride their bike and support their country.
The locally owned Miles of Trees’ tree nursery currently has several thousand trees ready to plant, but they still need to raise the funds to pay for the trees and sponsor a local tree planting event. Participating in Climate Ride Red White and Blue Ridge will directly help their team fund this project. To support to their cause, please click here.
On the Ground with Tour de Quisqueya
Miles of Trees also works with a local Haitian cycling club to organize an annual weeklong cycling tour of Haiti called the Tour de Quisqueya, which combines some of the best cycling in Haiti with conservation service projects. The program’s single largest tree planting event took place as part of the Tour de Quisqueya-6,000 trees were planted on the 6th year anniversary of the Haiti Earthquake.
Unfortunately the 2017 Tour was postponed due to damages from Hurricane Matthew; however, the team is eager to announce new dates in September, so stay tuned. You can learn more about the Tour de Quisqueya here.
