COS 150 Tree Challenge
The City of Colorado Springs is celebrating 150 years!
As part of their Sesquicentennial celebrations, the City has challenged businesses, homeowners, organizations and schools to collectively plant 18,071 trees by July 2021 to honor General Palmer's legacy of land stewardship.
UCCS has accepted this challenge and will be planting 150 trees on campus, and we need your help. Click the button above to support increasing our tree canopy.
Details on how you can engage and volunteer will be provided on this website. Mark your calendars for late April to help us dig in the dirt and create a lasting legacy on the UCCS campus.
UCCS has received a $1,500 grant from the Colorado Tree Coalition that will be matched by the UCCS Office of Sustainability. The Colorado Tree Coalition awarded $43,298 in grants to 15 organizations in 2020 thanks to funding from the CTC, the Xcel Energy Foundation and the Xcel Energy Vegetation Management Program. Together with matching funds, this helped plant 780 trees across Colorado. Since 1991, the Colorado Tree Coalition has awarded 528 grants totaling more than a million dollars, resulting in more than 75,000 trees being planted throughout the state.
How can you get involved with trees at UCCS?
Want to plant your own tree, too? Learn more here.
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Choose the Right Tree for the Right Place!
Each tree is different and has different needs. What is your right plant, right place?
- Learn what types of trees fit best in your hardiness zone
- Learn what types of trees are best for low-water
- Learn what types of trees to plant instead of ash
- Learn what types of trees are approved as COS street trees
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Getting Ready to Plant
After you have identified the best tree for your preferred location in your yard, now let's talk about best practices for planting!
- No matter where on your property, call before you dig! Call 811 or submit a request online to have underground utilities marked. Steer clear of these flags to stay safe and ensure you do not destroy important underground facilities.
- If you are planting in a City right of way, you must request a permit.
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Planting Best Practices
Now it's time to dig! If you don't own a shovel, ask a neighbor or friend. You might even reach out to your local community garden for resources.
Be sure to follow these guidelines on how deep and wide to dig the hole along with best practices of creating a mulch nest to help retain water to give your tree the best chance of establishing and thriving. -
Care and Maintenance
Now that your tree(s) in the ground, make sure you care for it over the next three years to help its roots become established and help it thrive throughout our Colorado seasons. Depending on the tree, you'll want to continue providing watering if we are experiencing a drought or low-precipitation year.