Free Trees

The City of Minneapolis is making a thousand trees available to its
residents, to help repair some of the damage done by storms and Dutch elm
disease in 2005.  Residents can order one tree per address, and folks can
choose from four varieties: Autumn Spire Maple, Autumn Brilliance
Serviceberry, Bicolor Oak, and Black Hills Spruce.

Ordering a tree:

The trees cost $15 each, and are each about 6 feet high with a 1 ¼-inch
trunk.  The thousand trees will be made available on a first come, first
served basis, and trees should be ordered by April 15.  To order a tree,
visit Mayor Rybak's website at http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/mayor/ or go
to the Tree Trust site at www.treetrust.org.

Picking up your tree:

After submitting an order form, residents will need to pick up their tree on
one of two pick-up dates:
May 13, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. - Xcel Energy Riverside Plant, 3100 Marshall
Street NE
May 20, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. - Jenny Lind School, 900 50th Avenue N

Learn to care for your trees:

Tree Trust is providing free workshops, which are available for residents to
learn more about how to plant a tree the right way, how to care for it, and
how to be your tree's first responder!  Learn how to identify insect and
disease problems, hazardous trees, and other tree health issues.  The
workshop dates are:
April 4, 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. - Northeast Bank, 77 NE Broadway
April 8, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. - Nokomis Community Center, 2401 East Minnehaha
Parkway

Research has proven that trees are a valuable investment. They increase
property values, improve air quality, lower heating and cooling costs,
control storm water, and make our cities better places to live.

For more information, contact Lorrie Stromme with the City of Minneapolis at
612-673-2003, or call Mimi Hottinger with Tree Trust at 651-644-5800.