Trees are critical for health, quality of life
WASHINGTON – March 3, 2016 – (RealEstateRama) —– Starting March 21, the City of Minneapolis is offering more than 1,200 five- to eight-foot trees for only $25 each. Fifteen varieties are available this year and include large species, flowering trees and several kinds of fruit trees. Any Minneapolis property owner – whether resident, business or nonprofit – can order a tree to plant on private Minneapolis property this spring. Comparable trees cost about $125 at a nursery.
Ordering begins at 9 a.m., March 21, at www.treetrust.org. In previous years the trees have sold quickly. Property owners who order early will get the best selection.
$25 trees are available for Minneapolis residents, businesses and nonprofits.
First-come, first-served. Limit one tree per property, maximum three properties per owner.
Trees must be picked up May 21, 22 or 23 at the City of Minneapolis Impound Lot. Volunteers will be on hand to help load each new tree and a complimentary bag of mulch into vehicles.
In the past nine years, the City Trees program has provided almost 13,000 trees for planting on private property. The City Trees program helps meet Minneapolis’ health goal focusing on the well-being of people and the environment. Since 2006, the City of Minneapolis has funded the City Trees program, a low-cost way for folks to help build the city’s tree canopy.
Healthy trees look beautiful in our neighborhoods, increase property values, help clean the air we breathe, save on our energy bills with strategic planting, keep the city cooler in the summer, provide homes for wildlife and help manage stormwater.
Share this video and spread the word about helping our urban forest
Healthy trees are an important part of our quality of life in Minneapolis, but they need our help. Share this short video about some of the benefits of our urban forest and how we can help.
Critical need for planting more trees
Emerald ash borers are beetles that attack and kill ash trees, and they are present in Minneapolis trees. The Park Board expects all of the ash trees in Minneapolis to die from emerald ash borers. That’s more than 200,000 on public and private land – a loss of one-fifth of Minneapolis’ urban forest. (No pesticides can be recommended because of dangers to pollinators.) These beetles are on track to kill every single ash tree here in Minnesota – that’s nearly 2 million trees in the metro area alone.
A loss of this scale is a hazard to our residents’ health because trees help pull ozone, fine particulates and other pollution out of the air. Trees also reduce the heat island effect in a city and reduce stress. For people who have heart or lung disease, trees do save lives. And larger trees do more than smaller trees.
Counties around the country that have already seen emerald ash borers wipe out their ash trees have also seen increased mortality from heart and lung disease. Based on the numbers of trees we expect to lose from emerald ash borers, we would expect to see heart and lung disease result in 100 more deaths in Minneapolis.
