Ricker's Replenish Program Plants 11,000-Plus Trees
INDIANAPOLIS — Ricker's Convenience Stores' Replenish reduced emission program has reached a tree-planting milestone.
During a recent Statehouse Bicentennial Tree Dedication, Ricker's announced that it has planted 11,017 trees in total while dedicating the 44 trees Ricker's Replenish planted on the Statehouse lawn. The program funded and supported this project to celebrate Indiana's Bicentennial in hopes of leaving a lasting legacy at the Statehouse, the company said.
Replenish partners with the Arbor Day Foundation and Keep Indianapolis Beautiful to plant trees, offsetting emissions.
"We are so proud to have been able to implement a program that so closely aligns with our company's core values of being able to give back to the Indianapolis and Anderson [Ind.] communities. We've been so excited to plant more and more trees, and reduce each customer's emissions," said Jay Ricker, founder and chairman of Ricker's. "This program does a lot of good for our customers, our employees, and our communities, and we hope to continue this momentum as the program grows."
In addition to the Statehouse project, Replenish planted and continues to plant trees in the Patoka River Watershed, a rehabilitation and reforestation project led by the Arbor Day Foundation in Indiana.
Planting areas included 40 impaired areas that were struggling because the forest had been cleared for agricultural purposes, which caused oxygen to be depleted from the waters, allowing little wildlife to survive. The trees planted in this area help to provide natural filtration in the watershed and increased oxygen levels, according to Ricker's.
Replenish also partners with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful to support its mission to create vibrant public places and to help people and nature thrive. Ricker's employees have participated and supported many volunteer projects with this organization since Replenish launched in May 2016. Such projects include helping to provide green spaces at Skiles Test Elementary School; restoring a 300-year-old tree in the Springdale Neighborhood; planting the program's 5,000th tree and 15 more trees at Millersville at Fall Creek Valley Preserve; and more.
Ricker's plans to continue the Replenish program for at least two more years based on strong results and feedback from customers, employees and communities, the company said.
Whenever Ricker's customers in the Indianapolis metro area pump any grade of fuel, the Replenish program calculates their vehicle's tailpipe emissions and invests in forestry, tree planting, alternative energy and other projects that remove carbon from the atmosphere.
Founded in 1979 by Jay and Nancy Ricker, Indianapolis-based Ricker's has 56 convenience stores.