MOIP Pear Buy Back Event
Volunteers Needed Public Welcome Registration Required Free Event Invasive Species Removal
Callery Pear Trees Begin to Bloom: Registration Opens March 16 for 2026 “Buyback” Event
St. Louis, MO (February 24, 2026) — The Missouri Invasive Plant Council (MoIP), in partnership with the Missouri Community Forestry Council, Magnificent Missouri, Forest ReLeaf of Missouri, Forrest Keeling Nursery, the Missouri Prairie Foundation, and the Missouri Department of Conservation, will host a Callery pear “buyback” program at 23 locations around the state on April 21. On this date, citizens who register with a photo of a cut down Callery pear tree from their property will receive a free native tree.
“As we prepare for spring, many Callery pear trees—also known as Bradford pears—will soon begin to bloom,” said Carol Davit, chair of the Missouri Invasive Plant Council. “The profuse white blossoms of this highly invasive tree make their alarming spread especially apparent in spring, along roadsides, in fields, parks, and on private property.”
Registration for the Callery Pear Buyback event is open from March 16 through April 16. To register, participants choose a native tree and submit a photo of the cut-down Callery pear tree. One free, non-invasive, native tree will be given to registered participants at the selected location on the day of the event, April 21, from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Participants receive potted native trees between 2 and 4 feet tall, in 3-gallon containers. Trees of this size are easier to transport than larger ones, minimize stress on trees in the planting process, and allow MoIP to offer more free trees in more locations to more Missourians.
MoIP is grateful to the Missouri Community Forestry Council and Magnificent Missouri for their financial support of the 2026 Callery Pear Buyback Program, as well as to Forrest Keeling Nursery and Forest ReLeaf of Missouri for tree donations. Financial and administrative support also comes from the Missouri Prairie Foundation and Missouri Department of Conservation.
To register or for more information about this event, including a full list of native tree species offered and how to identify Callery pear trees, visit https://moinvasives.org/pear-buyback/, or contact MoIP Coordinator Emily Render, (573) 569-8659, at [email protected]. Learn more about the negative impacts of Callery pear and other invasive plants, and find many identification and resources to control them at moinvasives.org.
Trees available in St Charles County include Black Gum, Deciduous Holly, Ohio Buckeye, Red Oak, Red Maple, and Swamp White Oak
Program partners include: Missouri Invasive Plant Council (MoIP) - www.moinvasives.org; Missouri Community Forestry Council - www.mocommunitytrees.org; Magnificent Missouri - www.magnificentmissouri.org; Forest ReLeaf - www.moreleaf.org; Forrest Keeling - www.fknursery.com; Missouri Prairie Foundation - www.moprairie.org; and Missouri Department of Conservation - https://mdc.mo.gov.