City gives away trees at no cost through Community Canopy Project Oct. 23

City gives away trees at no cost through
Community Canopy Project Oct. 23

Sarasota, FL:  Starting Monday, October 23, the City of Sarasota in partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation is offering 100 trees to residents at no cost through the Community Canopy Project. The program helps expand the tree canopies of cities across the United States, which in turn improves air and water quality, conserves energy and lowers residents’ utility bills.

“If you plant a tree in the right place, the shade it offers can be hugely beneficial in terms of a family’s annual energy bill,” said Sustainability Manager Stevie Freeman-Montes. “On top of that, this program benefits our environment in so many ways and makes our neighborhoods more enjoyable places to live.”

Residents can reserve free trees by visiting www.ArborDay.org/Sarasota<http://www.ArborDay.org/Sarasota>. The site provides an online-mapping tool that allows residents to look specifically at their own properties to find the best location for each tree and to calculate the estimated annual energy savings.

Each household can reserve up to one tree, which will be delivered to the house. Participants then must plant it in the location specified by the online-mapping tool and continue to care for it.

Residents can choose from four types of trees, all of which are native to Florida: sweetbay magnolia, red maple, bald cypress, or shumard oak. The City will continue to give away these trees until all 100 have been reserved.

This program is funded by the tree removal surcharge which is placed in the Urban Forestry fund and used to fund urban canopy protection programs such as this.

For more information contact Stevie Freeman-Montes<mailto:stevie.freeman-montes@sarasotafl.gov>, Sustainability Manager: 941-365-2200 ext 4202

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About the City of Sarasota:  Distinguished by Google as a Digital Capital in the U.S., the City of Sarasota is a diverse community located on Florida’s Suncoast with 53,000 year round residents, several internationally recognized cultural arts venues, stunning sunsets along Lido Beach, a 45-hole municipal golf course at the historic Bobby Jones Golf Club, and Major League spring training baseball with the Baltimore Orioles.  Learn more about us at www.SarasotaGov.com