Citizens of Kansas City, Missouri will play a vital role in restoring our declining urban forests, thanks to a new partnership between Heartland Tree Alliance (HTA), a program of environmental non-profit Bridging The Gap, and Kansas City Missouri Parks and Recreation. The partnership will plant free trees along the street. Kansas City Missouri residents are asked to review qualifications and reserve their free tree at https://tinyurl.com/treesforKCMO.

Trees will be planted in the public right-of-way, which is typically within 10 feet of the street. To receive your free tree, you must be a Kansas City resident, have adequate planting space as defined by ordinance and be willing to “adopt” a tree by providing supplemental water over the next two years.

“We’re excited to work with Bridging The Gap’s Heartland Tree Alliance because they educate citizens about the importance of trees and get them involved in tree care,” said KC Parks Deputy Director Terry Rynard. “Because they use volunteers to plant and water, we can get more trees planted for the same budget. We’re proud that the citizens of Kansas City will play a vital role in restoring our tree canopy.”

Sarah Crowder, forester for Heartland Tree Alliance, adds, “trees provide so many benefits to our city–shading our streetscapes, cleaning our air and cooling pavement and air temperatures.” Studies have shown that heavily “treed” neighborhoods have less crime because more people are outside; trees also slow traffic and add up to 20% to property values.

Thousands of trees are lost annually to disease, storm damage and old age in KCMO. With KC Parks and HTA working together, this new planting initiative will invite citizens to help restore Kansas City’s urban forest canopy:

To find out more information about the program or request a free tree, visit https://tinyurl.com/treesforKCMO. Don’t have room for a tree but would love to get involved? Volunteer to help us plant trees! Contact Sarah Crowder, sarah.crowder@bridgingthegap.org.