The cherry trees on the Tidal Basin need care and tending year round. For more than a century, the cherry trees on the National Mall have been a beloved cultural symbol and popular tourist destination that draws visitors from around the world to our nation’s capital. Living symbols of friendship and diplomacy, the trees have adorned the National Mall waterfront since 1912, when the Mayor of Tokyo gifted cherry trees to the United States. The iconic trees on the Tidal Basin, a beautiful but fragile wetland ecosystem, require year-round care and tending to bloom. The changing climate and rising sea-level of the Tidal Basin, coupled with damage from weather and ever-increasing foot traffic pose a growing threat to health of the trees. The Trust for the National Mall is proud to partner with the National Park Service and friends like you to steward the trees. The cost to maintain the Cherry Trees exceeds the federal funds available to provide for their care. But with your help, the Trust for the National Mall and the National Park Service can provide care for the trees and ensure they will endure and flourish for years to come. The Trust for the National Mall has partnered with the National Cherry Blossom Festival to launch our Adopt a Cherry Tree Campaign with a goal to raise over $3.7 million to care for the 3,700 cherry trees and create a maintenance fund to care for the trees all year long. We seek ambassadors like you who share our commitment to environmental sustainability and are willing to join our mission to preserve this cultural landscape and living symbol of friendship and diplomacy. The future of this annual spring tradition is becoming increasingly uncertain as the trees face damage foot traffic from the millions of visitors, the growing impacts of the changing climate and daily flooding caused by the rising sea level that damages their root systems. Now more than ever, the Cherry Trees need support to ensure they will continue to bloom and thrive for generations to come.
