About Pine Tree Hunters

A community-led reforestation organisation based in Reston, Virginia — founded in 2019 with one goal: put more native trees in the ground.

From a hillside in Delaplane to a statewide movement

In the summer of 2019, a small group of friends — hikers, trail runners, and weekend naturalists — gathered on a hillside near Delaplane to plant 200 White Oak seedlings in a clearing degraded by storm damage and deer overbrowsing. No press coverage, no sponsors, just shovels and a pickup truck full of saplings.

Within a year, that group had grown to hundreds of volunteers, with planting events across Northern Virginia and into the Shenandoah Valley. Companies began reaching out, asking how their employees could participate. By 2022, Pine Tree Hunters had restored sites from the Blue Ridge foothills to the Rappahannock watershed, and planted over 30,000 trees.

Today we operate a formal 501(c)(3) organisation with a full-time team, a network of over 2,100 community volunteers, and 47 corporate partners. Every tree we plant is GPS-logged, monitored, and reported. We believe environmental impact should be transparent — not just claimed.

52,400+
Native trees planted since 2019
94%
Year-one seedling survival rate
34
Restoration sites across Virginia
$1.2M
In grants and partner funding secured

Our core values

🔎

Radical Transparency

We publish all planting data, GPS coordinates, and annual survival rates publicly. Every tree we claim to have planted has a record. No vague promises, no inflated numbers.

🏠

Community First

Reforestation works best when local people are involved, not just watching. Every event we design is accessible to volunteers of any age or fitness level — no prior experience required.

📊

Measurable Impact

We don't plant trees and walk away. We monitor survival rates, soil health, and canopy cover over time. Our corporate partners receive annual reports with independently verified data.

The people behind the shovels

A small, committed team backed by a volunteer network of over 2,100 people across Virginia.

🌿

Sarah Mitchell

Executive Director

Former resource conservation specialist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Co-founded Pine Tree Hunters after years working on post-storm and urban-edge forest recovery across Northern Virginia.

🤝

James Okonkwo

Director of Partnerships

Leads our corporate engagement programme. Ten years in sustainability consulting and ESG reporting before joining PTH. Helps companies translate volunteer events into verified environmental commitments.

📋

Elena Vasquez

Volunteer Coordinator

Manages our community network and coordinates all event logistics. Background in environmental education — she developed the field orientation curriculum that makes our planting days genuinely educational.

🌳

Tom Hargreaves

Site Operations Lead

Selects our planting sites, sources native seedlings from certified regional nurseries, and leads all field operations. His ecological restoration background is the reason our survival rate sits above 94%.

2024 Annual Impact Summary

Our 2024 annual report is available for download and covers all planting activity, site health assessments, and financial disclosures.

18,200
Trees planted in 2024
11
New sites restored
840
New registered volunteers
16
New corporate partners
Download 2024 Annual Report (PDF)

Our partner organisations

These companies have committed to real, measurable reforestation through our corporate volunteer programme.

Vantage Point Solutions
Stratford Industrial Group
Dunmore & Associates
Shenandoah Capital Group
Sony CISD
Old Dominion Mutual Group
Fairfax Consulting Group
Commonwealth Solutions
Tidewater Equity Partners
Waverly & Drake
Piedmont Environmental Group
+35 more
Become a Corporate Partner →

Contact us

Questions about corporate partnerships, media enquiries, site access requests, or general information — we're happy to hear from you.

Email
hello@pinetreehunters.com
Phone
(571) 318-4420
Office
1818 Library St, Suite 300
Reston, VA 20190
Corporate Partnerships
partners@pinetreehunters.com
James Okonkwo, Director of Partnerships