BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C. — Several organizations have worked together to give away hundreds of native trees as western North Carolina combats damage caused by Hurricane Helene.
Ingles Markets, Procter & Gamble, the Arbor Day Foundation, and Trout Unlimited worked together to give out 300 native trees to homes across the western North Carolina community on Thursday, WLOS reports.
The goal is to help the environment recover from the damage caused by Helene. Trees help hold sediment from flowing into local rivers, especially after a natural disaster, WLOS reports.
“Planting trees and engaging with the community — like the people we see here today — in that activity, gives agency and starts empowering people, kind of to take back what the storm took away from them,” said Jeff Yates, the senior director of engagement with Trout Unlimited. “That’s equally as important as what we’re doing to fix the rivers and, you know, repair the roads.”
A Trout Unlimited spokesperson told WLOS that the organization has given out more than 15,000 trees in the area in the past year, with plans to distribute 7,000 more.
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