November 15, 2021

Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall put tree number 1,000 in the ground today as part of her annual initiative to plant 1,000 trees to directly expand the City’s westside urban forest. The Mayor was joined by volunteers from Bank of America for the planting of six Catalpa trees just outside Mountain View Elementary School.

“For two years now we’ve added a variety of beautiful trees on the City’s westside that will contribute to cleaner air, combat climate change and support greater equity in our community,“ said Mayor Mendenhall. “Having a robust westside urban forest is integral to the future of our City as a whole, and I am happy we’re making this extra headway every year.”

The trees planted as part of the 1,000 Trees Initiative are in addition to the estimated 1,000 planted annually citywide by the City’s Urban Forestry team, and will grow to remove a combined 5 tons of pollution from the air and generate another 13 tons of oxygen in our westside communities every year. 

Over the course of 2021, Mayor Mendenhall has been joined by volunteers and donors to the initiative, including Representative Sandra Hollins, Representative Angela Romero, Tree Utah, Ivory Homes, the Utah Jazz, and Bank of America.

“I so appreciate our community partners for helping us grow our City’s westside urban forest,” said Mayor Mendenhall. “Small actions can transform a community, and we are doing that one tree at a time.” 

With all of their added benefits, the trees of Salt Lake City’s urban forest return more than $5 million in benefits annually.