Charles Crane/MDN Hess employees and other volunteers with 1,000 Trees for Minot plant trees along 16th Street NW near Marketplace Foods in Minot on Thursday.

The Hess Corporation took time this week to team up with 1,000 Trees for Minot to cultivate shade for the future and spark the minds of the next generation, through tree-themed book donations to the Minot Public Library and the planting of 77 trees in northwest Minot.

At an event at the Minot Public Library on Tuesday, Hess donated 25 books related to trees for young readers that organizers hoped would highlight the important role that trees play in our lives.

“It’s easy for Hess to support the 1,000 Trees initiative because of the lasting impact the project has on the community. Not only because of the value trees bring to Minot but because books like ‘The Giving Tree’ and ‘The Lorax’ are children’s classics that teach valuable life-lessons for all children,” said Hess North Dakota General Manager Brent Lohnes.

1,000 Trees for Minot, an initiative from the Minot Area Community Foundation, seeks to promote and encourage the planting of trees in the local community. Whether it be on their personal property or on public land, all can be counted toward the group’s goal of planting 1,000 trees in Minot by the fall of 2026. Organizer Tim Bauman said the group’s aim was to raise public awareness of the benefits of trees to the local landscape and general quality of life.

“It really is an investment in our community. When homeowners plant a tree, their property value immediately increases. Trees shade and can help cut heat bills in the summer. Depending on where you plant them, they can be a windbreak in the winter and save on heating bills,” Bauman said, “When we talk about the scale when our public spaces are planted with trees, it encourages active transit. It encourages people to get out and explore and enjoy their neighborhood and meet their neighbors.”

On Thursday, Hess employees, Minot Public Works and volunteers braved the blustering winds along 16th Street NW near Marketplace Foods to dig holes for 77 mature trees.

“We try to plant trees that are going to be successful and thrive here in North Dakota, so that means lots of native varieties like Burr Oaks. We’re going to be planting some flowering crab apples; some things that are going to provide a little bit of visual appeal,” Bauman said, “We really try to have a good variety, so we don’t have an entire street wiped out if something comes through.”

Bauman said that anyone who resides or plants a tree in the 701 or 702 area codes can add theirs to the more than 700 planted since 2021 by submitting a planting report to the group. The form for the report can be found on the group’s Facebook page.