We all have a role to play in getting trees to maturity - the size where they provide the most benefits for cleaner air and water, mitigate the impacts from flooding, and reduce urban temperatures during heat waves all while improving public health and well-being. However, growing the regional canopy means we have to stop planting annual trees. This panel presents a variety of perspectives that can help contractors and designers get trees in the ground correctly and provide proper care after planting. We will discuss a trees’ journey from the nursery to its final planting site, and the absolute vital role the landscape industry plays in our mission to promote a healthy, long-lived forest canopy for the Chicagoland region.