mtf has been planting trees in mclean for over 50 years

who are we?

From its roots in the beautification movement inspired by Lady Bird Johnson, the wife of President Lyndon Johnson, the McLean Trees Foundation has grown into an organization with a much broader agenda.  Then the emphasis was almost exclusively on planting trees and shrubs to make a more attractive landscape; now there is a new focus on rebuilding and diversifying McLean’s native tree canopy, restoring native ecosystems, and combatting invasive plants that threaten native trees, plants, and wildlife. 

Some things have remained the same. A beautiful tree-shaded community is a happier and healthier community. But as our understanding of how the natural world functions has evolved, so has the mission of the McLean Trees Foundation. 

From the beginning, with an ambitious planting of 300 dogwood, oak, and maple trees under the auspices of the McLean Citizens Association (MCA) in 1964, there was an awareness of larger issues. In the 1970s, an ambitious community-wide newspaper recycling campaign began to provide regular funding for tree planting. The organizers declared that recycling had saved 4,000 trees. Volunteers fueled the planting and recycling effort, and they were joined by garden clubs, youth groups, and businesses, along with the highway department, nurseries, and other groups. What began in the 1960s as an informal MCA program became an MCA committee in 1980, chaired for more than two decades by the late Richard Armstrong Poole. In 2004, the McLean Trees Foundation emerged as a fully autonomous organization when it was incorporated as a 501 (c)(3) organization. Today, MTF relies exclusively on grants and donations to support its operations.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has twice recognized MTF’s achievements. In 2015, it bestowed the Environmental Excellence Award, and in 2017 came the "Friends of Trees" award, which highlighted MTF's Neighborhood Tree Program. 

This is a time of renewal for MTF. In addition to working closely with MCA and other community and environmental groups, we help individual homeowners and organizations plant more trees, and we lead efforts to remove invasive plants that threaten trees in McLean’s parks and other public spaces.

Learn more about our long history as chronicled in local media outlets on our News Archive page.

our goals

• Foster awareness, appreciation and enjoyment of trees

• Educate residents on the benefits of native trees and the vital role native trees play in the health of our ecosystem

• Enhance the health of our neighborhoods with tree-lined streets by engaging residents in planting and preserving native trees

• Inspire the next generation of tree stewards in our community through educational school and park plantings

• Protect our mature native trees through advocacy, invasive removal programs and preservation activities

• Assist Fairfax County in achieving its goal to maintain its tree canopy of 57% by diversifying our urban forest with native trees

• Follow and promote best cultural practices in tree planting and care

• Build partnerships with other organizations or groups, industry professionals and County agencies to enhance our urban forest