An effort by residents to plant more trees in the North and East neighborhoods of Richmond is branching out with plans to spread the "urban forest" to a wider area.

The grass-roots nonprofit group once known as the North and East Tree Team is now called Richmond Trees, which has a stated mission "to promote and grow the (city's) urban forest and green infrastructure through community planting, tree care, education and advocacy in order to improve the health and well-being of the diverse Richmond community."

The goal is in line with the city's 2009 Tree City USA designation by the National Arbor Day Foundation and meshes with a Maryland study cited by Richmond Councilman Tom Butt that concludes that neighborhoods with abundant, well-tended trees experience less crime.

To raise money and awareness, the volunteers of Richmond Trees are hosting showings of "Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai," the award-winning 2008 documentary about a female activist from Kenya whose work to reforest her country sparked wide-ranging social movements and earned her a Nobel Prize.

Richmond Trees will have separate showings of the film at a private home at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday. A $20 donation is requested to help the group buy and plant trees in the city. Admission includes complimentary lemonade and a bag of popcorn.

Seating is limited to 30 people per showing. To RSVP and get the location, send an email to