Volunteers will plant 25 trees near streets in the West Central neighborhood on Friday.
The event will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and was organized by SpoCanopy.
SpoCanopy is a program of City of Spokane Urban Forestry and The Lands Council. Their mission is to ensure every neighborhood has access to trees and green space.
In order to achieve their goal, they partner with volunteers to plant trees in their community. They aim to create 40 percent canopy coverage in Spokane by 2030. According to the Arbor Day Foundation, Spokane’s current canopy coverage is 23 percent.
The benefits of increased tree canopy are storm water mitigation, provided habitat for wildlife and an increase in property value.
After SpoCanopy reached out to people in the community, the organization identified where trees were needed the most and where residents would be willing to care for them.
The trees will be planted at no cost to the residents and property owners can even receive a reduction from their utility bill if they opt in. That is an incentive to lower their irrigation use and care for their new trees.
Avista Utilities and Townshend Winery are sponsors of the project.
The volunteers for this event are already lined up. Due to COVID-19 safety precautions, they can’t have more than the planned number of volunteers participate in this event.
SpoCanopy said there will be more events like this one coming up. They are also partnering with SpokaneScape to remove turf and replace it with mulch and drought tolerant plants.
To volunteer for a future planting or to request a tree be planted near you, visit The Lands Council website.