Some residents in Mesa qualify for a free shade tree
Feb 20, 2024, 8:00 PM
Qualifying Mesa residents can now enroll in the city's tree shade program, which offers eligible participants the opportunity to plant a desert-adapted tree in their yard at no cost. (Pexels File Photo)
(Pexels File Photo)
PHOENIX — Qualifying Mesa residents can now enroll in the city’s tree shade program, which offers eligible participants the opportunity to plant a desert-adapted tree in their yard at no cost.
The Trees Are Cool initiative, which launched in February 2023, aims to get more shade trees in Mesa to lower outdoor temperatures and home cooling costs, and to clean the air, the city said.
Mesa will offer a selection of five trees, each ranging from 3 to 5 feet in height. Options include the blue palo verde, desert willow, velvet mesquite and willow acacia.
Here’s who qualifies to participate in the Trees Are Cool initiative
Those who are interested must be a City of Mesa Electric residential customer (not SRP) and own the home or have the legal right to plant a tree on the property. Businesses are not eligible.
Then, they will be required to attend a 75-minute workshop from 10 a.m. to noon on March 16. The registration deadline for the workshop is March 8.
The tree will have to be planted on either the south or west side of the home for optimal energy savings, and participants are responsible for transporting, planting and taking care of the tree.
Participants will also be required to pick up their 5-gallon tree on March 30. There is no other date for pick-ups available.
Once the sapling is picked up, a request to Arizona 811 will need to be made so that professional locators can scan the area for any potential underground lines in conflict.
As soon as participants have their property approved, they can begin digging.
The program supports the city of Mesa’s goal to plant 1 million trees by 2050.
