Mayor Keller Joins La Mesa Neighborhood to Plant Trees in International District
Sept. 14, 2020
Mayor Tim Keller today joined volunteers from the Rotary Club of Albuquerque del Sol (RDS) and neighbors from the La Mesa neighborhood to plant more than 50 trees in the International District. The project is part of a public-private partnership between the City, RDS, Tree New Mexico, and neighbors to help restore Albuquerque’s urban forest, particularly in underserved communities.
“This project is all about neighbors and organizations coming together to make our city better,” stated Mayor Keller. “We need more of this, especially after this week’s storm knocked down so many of our trees. That’s why I’m encouraging Burqueños to get involved and help us plant thousands more trees across Albuquerque.”
The Rotary Club of Albuquerque del Sol spearheaded Saturday’s planting as one of its 2020 service projects. The Club wanted to do a tree planting that benefits children now and children in future generations. Five of the more than 50 trees were planted in Mesa Verde Park in May 2020 along with a plaque that says, “The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” The remaining 50 trees were planted Saturday in streetscapes where neighbors have adopted the trees to continue caring for them.
“The members of Rotary del Sol enjoy giving back to the community, and planting trees is a great way to do it,” stated Ed Robertson, President of RDS.
Last year, Mayor Tim Keller challenged residents and businesses to help the City achieve the ambitious 100,000 tree goal – one tree for every kid in Albuquerque. The challenge was issued as part of the City’s new urban forestry initiative which aims to refocus efforts on creating an effective and unified program to support a thriving urban forest.
Tree NM has been a critical partner with the City of Albuquerque in recent years helping to plant more than 3,000 trees with volunteers through the ABQ Neighborwoods program. These trees are all planted by neighborhood associations with Tree NM organizing and planning the logistics. Through this program, Tree NM helps neighborhoods put trees in the ground, monitors the trees for three years, trains citizens in the basics of planting and tree care, and helps build stronger communities.
People interested in organizing volunteer tree planting events in their neighborhoods can contact Tori Fox with the City’s Parks and Recreation Department at [email protected]. People can also contribute to the One Albuquerque tree planting initiative by donating to the One Albuquerque Fund (www.onealbuquerque.org) and designating the contribution for the tree fund.