Albany high-schoolers marked Arbor Day by taking part in city and state efforts to plant more trees.
Mayor Kathy Sheehan joined officials with the state Department of Environmental Conservation and grade school students at Albany School of Humanities for a planting event.
Sheehan says Albany has been ahead of the curve with its successful 2500 trees by 2025 program.
"We're here because of the volunteers the folks that are really passionate about trees," said Sheehan. "The folks that call City Hall every time we touch a tree, no matter what we do to that tree, because they really care about making sure that we are doing all that we can to be good stewards of our environment. To leave our community better for the next generation and the next generation."
The Democrat says state and federal funding have bolstered the city's tree planting endeavors.
"When you see us working on trees, know that it's very purposeful, know that it's happening because of the commitment of our state to helping to fund this work and the commitment of the Biden administration which provided us with a very significant grant that we hope we continue, are able to continue, to draw down on because this is really important," Sheehan said. "This is about community. This is about pride in our city and this is about ensuring that we have a place that is welcoming to everyone."
Sheehan and the officials joined students to plant trees in selected locations on the school playground.
Acting state Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Amanda Lefton says Governor Kathy Hochul has announced $15 million in grants for reforestation efforts as part of her goal to plant 25 million trees across New York by 2033.
"You know we often think about trees in our vast beautiful forests like the Adirondacks and the Catskills but actually we need more trees in our urban environments," said Lefton. "They help cool down our cities, which is really critical. They provide clean air and it's so important for the people that live in more densely populated areas to have trees. So this $15 million, which is just incredible for so many communities is going to help plant a lot of trees. In fact it's going to actually help restore 1,300 acres of urban forests across the state which is really remarkable and importantly because we can't do that alone over half of that investment of that $15 million is going to local governments."
Lefton says every tree planted counts towards the 25 million goal. She's asking everyone who plants a tree to make use of DEC's online tracker tool so every new tree can be counted.
