The Arbor Day Foundation Teams Up With DaVita to Bring New Growth to Urban Communities

DENVER and LINCOLN, Nebraska (April 20, 2022) – In celebration of the 150th National Arbor Day, the Arbor Day Foundation and DaVita have coordinated four tree-planting and distribution events in Denver, Colorado; Malvern, Pennsylvania; and Nashville, Tennessee, throughout the spring 2022 planting season. The two organizations have collaborated since 2020 as part of DaVita’s commitment to supporting healthy communities.

Over the course of their community tree campaign, it is expected that participating DaVita teammates (employees) and members of the community will plant and distribute more than 300 trees in urban environments that lack a sufficient amount of canopy.

The community tree campaign will consist of four upcoming events as part of the celebration:

- April 21 at 1p.m. CDT at E.S. Rose Park (12th Avenue S and Edgehill Ave., Nashville, TN): A community tree planting event in Nashville to focus planting efforts where low canopy and low income intersect.

- April 23 at 8:30 a.m. EDT at Willow Park (490 Darby Paoli Rd., Villanova, PA): A community park planting event near Malvern to educate residents on proper tree care in an effort to restore regional watersheds.

- April 23 at 10:30 a.m. MDT at City Park Greenhouse (2500 E 23rd Ave., Denver, CO): The annual “Denver Digs” tree distribution event that is expected to provide residents with more than 1,000 affordable trees through city wide community partnerships.

- May 11 at 9 a.m. MDT at Berkeley Lake (4601 W 46th Ave., Denver, CO): A community tree planting event in Denver to help combat the ongoing emerald ash borer infestation in the area.  

“Trees and health go hand-in-hand in so many ways, and we are delighted to be working with DaVita, who sees the value they provide to community well-being,” said Dan Lambe, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation, “We ultimately want to create safe, resilient environments for urban neighborhoods, and DaVita’s support allows us to provide high-impact projects that will offer a variety of ecological benefits for generations to come.”

For the past 50 years, the Arbor Day Foundation has planted nearly 500 million trees around the world. In particular, urban communities experience a dearth of access to trees, green space and other forms of nature—resulting in environments susceptible to the harmful effects of climate change. Through a vast network of partnerships, the Foundation facilitates projects that empower organizations of all sizes to reach their environmental and sustainability goals via measurable, impactful work.

“We’re proud to work with the Arbor Day Foundation and contribute to sustainable change that leaves behind a cleaner, healthier world for generations to come.” said Jim Hearty, DaVita’s chair of its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) steering committee.

To learn more about DaVita’s commitment to ESG, visit DaVita.com/CommunityCare.

About the Arbor Day Foundation

Founded in 1972, the Arbor Day Foundation has grown to become the largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees, with more than one million members, supporters and valued partners. Since 1972, almost 500 million Arbor Day Foundation trees have been planted in neighborhoods, communities, cities and forests throughout the world. Our vision is to lead toward a world where trees are used to solve issues critical to survival.  

As one of the world's largest operating conservation foundations, the Arbor Day Foundation, through its members, partners and programs, educates and engages stakeholders and communities across the globe to involve themselves in its mission of planting, nurturing and celebrating trees. More information is available at arborday.org.

About DaVita Inc.

DaVita (NYSE: DVA) is a comprehensive kidney care provider focused on transforming care to improve the quality of life for patients globally. The company is one of the largest providers of kidney care services in the U.S. and has been a leader in clinical quality and innovation for more than 20 years. DaVita is working to help increase equitable access to care for patients at every stage and setting along their kidney health journey—from slowing progression of kidney disease to streamlining the transplant process, from acute hospital care to dialysis at home. As of December 31, 2021, DaVita served 203,000 patients at 2,815 outpatient dialysis centers in the U.S. The company operated an additional 339 outpatient dialysis centers in ten countries worldwide. DaVita has reduced hospitalizations, improved mortality and worked collaboratively to propel the kidney care community to adopt an equitable, high-quality standard of care for all patients, everywhere. To learn more, visit DaVita.com/About.

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