Trees Make Great Neighbors!
Tree by Tree – The Million Tree Initiative and The Park People partner
to plant 500 trees in Greater Park Hill
In a coordinated effort to increase Denver’s urban canopy, Tree by Tree – The Mile High Million has teamed up with The Park People to plant 500 trees along streets in the Greater Park Hill Neighborhood. The week-long event will take place from Monday, October 20, 2008 through Saturday, October 25, 2008. Volunteer opportunities exist for individuals and large groups (ages 9 and up) during the week and on Saturday. To volunteer, please call the Denver Parks and Rec volunteer line a 720.913.0330.
This event is one of more than 70 re-greening efforts throughout the country being promoted during October, which has been declared National NeighborWoods Month by the national nonprofit, the Alliance for Community Trees (ACT). The Park People and Tree by Tree – The Mile High Million are members of ACT’s NeighborWoods Network.
Tree By Tree – The Mile High Million will plant 200 trees throughout North Monaco Street Parkway and another 100 to 200 trees on targeted green streets in the North Park Hill Neighborhood. This represents a $70,000 investment in trees alone by Denver Parks and Recreation and The Million Tree Initiative. The Park People will contribute to the effort by planting an additional 100 trees along an under-canopied stretch of Martin Luther King Boulevard that runs from North Monaco Street Parkway to Forest Street.
While the southern stretch of Denver’s Monaco Street Parkway has always been tree-lined and leafy, the northern stretch is comparatively barren. In general, northeast Denver has significantly less canopy coverage than south-central Denver. The Park People and Tree By Tree –The Mile High Million, with the support of the larger community, hope to start addressing this inequity through the NeighborWoods planting project.
The tree planting event was initiated by a group of Park Hill residents concerned about the lack of shade on their street. "The trees represent an investment in the future," says Sara Davis, program coordinator for The Million Tree Initiative. "Trees planted today will benefit future generations in the form of energy savings, increased property values and cleaner air."
"The target areas were carefully chosen based on low tree canopy coverage. We are excited about this project, because we are able to enhance Denver’s environment while adding beauty and vibrancy to some of our most historic neighborhoods," says Paige Heydon-McCrary, executive director of The Park People.
Tree by Tree – The Mile High Million
The mission of Tree by Tree – The Mile High Million is to inspire individuals, neighborhood associations, schools, nonprofits and businesses to nurture and plant 1 million trees in the Denver region by 2025. As a highly participatory component of Greenprint Denver, the Initiative has already led to projects in more than 40 cities, park districts, schools and community organizations.
The Park People
The Park People is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to preserving, enhancing and advocating for Denver’s parks, recreation resources, open space and urban forest. Through its Denver Digs Trees program, The Park People is responsible for adding more than 30,000 public trees to Denver’s streets, with hundreds more sold each spring to help raise funds for the organization’s public tree efforts. Visit www.theparkpeople.org for more information.
National NeighborWoods Month
National NeighborWoods Month is part of the National NeighborWoods program, an initiative to re-green North American cities from coast to coast. The National NeighborWoods initiative is a program of the national Alliance for Community Trees in partnership with The Home Depot Foundation.