Cleveland Tree March: Plant trees, not war.
The Cleveland Tree March (a half-mile walk) will step off from the Langston Hughes Branch of the Cleveland Public Library (10200 Superior Ave) at 10am on Saturday, April 11. The public is welcome to join us.
The march, sponsored by the Cleveland Nonviolence Network, is inspired by women in Kenya who planted trees in eastern rural Africa to counter deforestation—a major threat to subsistence farming. Wangari Maathai, one of the leaders and the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, broadened her work to foster peace and democracy in Africa, igniting a grassroots movement focused on environmental conservation and women's rights. The Green Belt Movement spread across the continent, resulting in the planting of over 30 million trees.
Goal: At least 200 marchers will carry tree saplings to Brookdale Orchard*, with at least 100 committed to planting, nurturing, and reporting on the well-being of their adopted saplings. Marchers might plant the trees at their homes, at their place of worship, at their community garden, or other public space with permission.
*southwest of the starting point at the library, the urban orchard is bounded by E 86th, E 88th, Brookdale Court and Wade Park Ave. Rain location for the ending point is St Matthew United Methodist Church, 8601 Wade Park Ave., Cleveland 44106
Why a tree march? Our country and planet are facing dire challenges. As we mark the anniversary of the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. (April 4, 1968), we are reminded of the “triplets of evil” that he so aptly identified: racism, poverty, and war. Today, the successors of MLK’s campaigns to overcome these entrenched systems of injustice have rightfully added ecological destruction to the list. As we approach Tax Day (April 15), we admit our complicity in supporting the $1.5 trillion US war budget that fuels the US military—the largest institutional emitter of greenhouse gases on the planet. MLK warned that our nation—spending many times more on the military than on programs of social uplift—is approaching spiritual death.
Planting a tree is an act of hope. With each step forward on April 11, we’ll say YES to life and NO to death. YES to trees and NO to war. With our trees we are investing in a future liberated from the evils of racism, extreme materialism, militarism, and environmental degradation. We are taking a concrete step toward climate restoration. We are planting our vision for the future.
Organizer: Cleveland Nonviolence Network. Co-sponsors to date include: Brookdale Orchard, Carl Stokes Brigade, Cleveland Peace Action, Creation Care Team of St Patrick Parish with St Malachi Oratory, East Side Creation Care Alliance, InterReligious Task Force on Central America, Northeast Ohio Community Resilience Centre, Northeast Ohio Sierra Club, St. Matthew United Methodist Church, West Side Creation Care Team
Parking:
PRESS RELEASE
Event: Cleveland Nonviolence Network Tree March
Date: April 11, 2026
Time: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Contact:
CNVN Maria Smith (216) 978-7391 or clevelandnonviolence@gmail.com
Brookdale Orchard Mittie Imani Jordan (216)288-9759 or stmattcom@aol.com
Mark the Date & Join In!
Cleveland Nonviolence Network
Tree March from Langston Hughes Library to Brookdale Orchard
Saturday, April 11, 2026, Beginning at 10 AM
On Saturday, April 11, 2026, The Cleveland Nonviolence Network (CNVN) will lead a Tree March beginning at 10 a.m. from Langston Hughes Library to Brookdale Orchard to oppose the US trillion-dollar budget for the Department of War!
Brookdale Orchard is pleased to host the culminating program for The Cleveland Nonviolence Network (CNVN) Tree March, followed by planting trees adopted by the orchard and friends.
Inspired by the late Wangari Mathaa, the first African woman and environmentalist to win the Nobel Peace Prize, and in memory of Patt Needham, a longtime CNVN activist who persistently made the connection between climate destruction and the US military as the world’s largest single institutional emitter of greenhouse gases, The Tree March is a way to express belief in a peaceful future in which people care about and for our planet.
CNVN is looking for 100 people to register to adopt a tree, and to march with the sampling to convey the message that we choose trees over a trillion dollars for war! Free to registrants, the native trees have been seeded in a nursery organized as a senior class project by Jinan Berard. With plans to begin undergraduate studies in environment and sustainability in the fall, Jinan is also the Co-President of the National High School Climate Forum.
The march will launch at 10 a.m. from Langston Hughes Library at 10200 Superior Avenue at East Boulevard, and head westward across Rockefeller Park to Brookdale Orchard’s newest garden at East 86th Street and Wade Park Wade Park Avenue. The garden will be dedicated as the Hazelnut, Hickory and Paw Paw Peace Garden in honor of the occasion.
Participants wanting to adopt a tree, but who are unable to march, will go directly to the orchard to greet the marchers when they arrive. Pre-march and pre-arrival activities are planned at both Langston Hughes Library and Brookdale Orchard, including information tables on environment & sustainability, climate change, anti-war lobby initiatives, visual and literary arts, and performances by Cuyahoga County Poet Laureate Honey Bell-Bey, The Robeson Singers, and HUE People.
The Tree March is organized by the Cleveland Nonviolence Network with the following co-sponsors (to date):
Brookdale Orchard with St. Matthew United
Methodist Church and The Rockefeller Park
Community Restoration & Development Association
Carl Stokes Brigade
Cleveland Peace Action
Creation Care Team of St Patrick Parish withSt Malachi Oratory
East Side Creation Care Alliance
InterReligious Task Force on Central America
Northeast Ohio Community Resilience Centre
Northeast Ohio Sierra Club
West Side Creation Care Team
With Special Thanks to the Cleveland Public Library Langston Hughes Branch. For more information or to register for The Tree March scan the QR Code on the flyer or contact Maria Smith at 216.978.7391 or clevelandnonviolence@gmail.com.
parking: St. Thomas Aquinas School 9101 Superior Ave, Cleveland 44106 (at Superior and Ansel, immediately adjacent Rockefeller Park).
