On Thursday morning, hundreds of long-distance cyclists peddled off the Steamship Authority’s Island Home ferry for the Vineyard leg of a five-day, 425-mile bicycle ride aimed at raising money for research and awareness for the importance of trees.
The annual Tour de Tree’s bike-a-thon is the primary public outreach and community engagement event for Tree Research and Education Endowment Fund (TREE Fund) – a nonprofit dedicated to supporting scientific discovery in the field of arboriculture.
The 30-year standing fundraiser takes place over the course of five days, starting in Stamford Connecticut, from which bikers ride 89 miles to Middletown, Connecticut. On day two, they cover 79 miles from Middletown to Smithfield, Rhode Island. From there, the group rides 85 miles to Falmouth, and after the Martha’s Vineyard loop, cyclists travel 103 miles back to the finish line in Providence, Rhode Island.
In addition to riding bikes, cyclists are ambassadors for tree science, stopping at various locations along the way to plant trees, educate the public, and spread the word about work done by arboriculture professionals and the importance of proper tree care.
Since its inception in 1992, The Tree Research and Education Endowment Fund has awarded more than $5.4 million in grants and scholarships with the goal of sustaining tree research in the future. Currently the Tour de Tree’s has raised $259,610 of their $410,000 goal.
