KTAR News: Phoenix, American Forests organization plant 259 trees at Cesar Chavez Park

Phoenix — The City of Phoenix has its first “Cool Corridor” as 259 trees were planted at Cesar Chavez Park on Saturday.

Mayor Kate Gallego partnered with non-profit American Forests to take on the project with the help of more than 100 volunteers, according to a press release.

The trees were planted along Baseline Road to set up the Cool Corridor, which is a walkway with shade coverage for a more comfortable and safer walk route.

All trees are drought-resistant, Phoenix-native trees such as Elm, Ash, Sissoo and Chinese Pistache.

“With today’s planting of more than 250 trees in the city’s first Cool Corridor, we mark an important milestone toward our goal of 100 Cool Corridors by 2030,” Gallego said in the release.

“With American Forests and private sector partners, we’re proud to prioritize investment in low-income and heat vulnerable neighborhoods. This corridor models the vision for tree equity and will serve students walking to and from nearby schools, public transit riders, and residents in this community.”

One year ago, Phoenix became the first American city to pledge to Tree Equity, an online map tool that measures the amount of tree canopy in all 150,000 urbanized neighborhoods across the United States, according to the release.

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