Up to 70 Trees to be Planted in Keyes Park Saturday, Volunteers Wanted
Up to seventy trees will be planted in Keyes Park Saturday thanks to volunteer efforts provided by the Tree Trust non-profit organization and a Boise Paper grant.
The planting will begin at 9:30 am in the newly renovated park and last until the afternoon. Residents are encouraged to stop by anytime to talk with volunteers or to lend a hand. Residents can also sign up to volunteer at TreeTrust.org/volunteer.
The new trees will provide good shade for park goers and fill out the area nicely, said Kevin Hansen, director of public works.
“It really complements the overall park plan,” he said.
City officials applied for the Boise Paper Project UP grant in January. The grant, combined with volunteer work provided by Tree Trust and the Arbor Day Foundation, is worth an estimated $34,000 and will allow the city to plant more than twice the number of trees than originally planned.
Due to the emerald ash borer beetle’s destructive impact on local ash trees, the city has been applying for a variety of tree-planting grants like this to help renew the urban forest and diversify tree species, an effort that will take decades.
The 13 different tree species to be planted Saturday include London planetree, skyline honeylocust, accolade elm, autumn gold gingko, boulevard linden, firefall maple, northern red oak, Kentucky coffeetree, river birch, black hills spruce, eastern red cedar, swamp white oak, and sunburst honeylocust.
Keyes Park is located at 1345 45½ St, Columbia Heights.
9-10-2018