(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall says a few words to the volunteers from Dominion Energy to plant 205 trees in the Fairpark neighborhood, which is said to be single largest volunteer tree planting event in Salt Lake City, on Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020.
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall joined more than 100 volunteers from Dominion Energy to plant 205 trees in the Fairpark neighborhood on Thursday. The event was part of Mendenhall’s initiative to plant 1,000 new trees throughout SLC’s west-side neighborhoods.
Salt Lake officials say it was the largest volunteer tree-planting event in Salt Lake City.
“Today we’re putting silver linden, catalpa, English oak, spring snow crabapple, and flowering cherry trees into the ground to put down roots,” Mendenhall said in a statement. “It will take time for them to create a towering, mature canopy, but today’s efforts represent hope, growth and resilience.”
The Fairpark neighborhood lost many trees due to the windstorms on Sept. 7 and 8 that left tens of thousands of Utahns without power and led to a state of emergency. Mendenhall, a self-described tree lover, estimated earlier this month that about 2,000 trees had been uprooted in Salt Lake City.
During her mayoral campaign, Mendenhall said she would plant 1,000 new trees in the city’s west-side neighborhoods every year if she were elected.
“Dominion Energy is eager to be a part of Mayor Mendenhall’s urban forestry initiatives,” said Craig Wagstaff, Dominion Energy senior vice president and general manager of western distribution. “It’s a great opportunity to help clean the air in the communities where we do business and to beautify Utah’s capital city.”
Salt Lake City has also partnered with TreeUtah, a nonprofit organization. Together they aim to raise funds and plant trees on city property.
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