DENVER — At the City Park Greenhouse on Thursday morning, The Park People and Denver Digs worked together to unload and organize hundreds of trees to be distributed and sold on Saturday.
“We really focus our outreach and partnership building in Denver’s low-canopy neighborhoods where trees are needed most," said Kim Yuan-Ferrell, Executive Director of The Park People. "And there are great barriers, mostly cost, to planting trees."
Yuan-Ferrell said low-canopy neighborhoods lead to tree inequity, because the areas with fewer trees are also lower-income and BIPOC communities.
The Park People are able to offer a significant discount to people in low-canopy neighborhoods. Instead of paying more than $100 for a tree, they pay just $10.
Denver's low-canopy neighborhoods are Athmar Park, Auraria, Baker, Barnum, Barnum West, Chaffee Park, Clayton, Cole, College View/South Platte, East Colfax, Elyria-Swansea, Five Points, Globeville, Green Valley Ranch, Jefferson Park, Lincoln Park, Mar Lee, Montbello, Northeast Park Hill, Overland, Ruby Hill, Skyland, Sun Valley, Valverde, Villa Park, West Colfax, Westwood and Whittier, according to The Park People's website.
"We also offer tree-ships where we give trees for free for folks if even $10 is too much," Yuan-Ferrell said. "So we want to make sure we can provide where there’s a need."
Trees being distributed to Denver neighborhoods
Most of the trees are already reserved for people who applied for one earlier this year, but there will be some extra for sale at discounted prices.
People can buy trees from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 23 in two locations:
- City Park Greenhouse (2500 E. 23rd Ave., near 23rd and York, close to the Denver Zoo)
- Sloan’s Lake Park (5055 W. 17th Ave., on the southwest corner of the park, near 17th and Sheridan)
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