Boulder County’s EnergySmart program offering $25 trees to county residents

The program will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis

Boulder County, Colo. - Boulder County’s Sustainability Office is providing 400 heavily-discounted trees to residents through the EnergySmart program, the county’s one-stop-shop service to help residents make their homes more comfortable, affordable, and environmentally friendly. This tree discount program is intended to help residents better understand where to plant a tree on their property to achieve maximum shading effects for the most energy savings.

One discounted 5-gallon tree per household is available for only $25. This program will end on Oct. 20, 2018 or when all trees have been purchased. The program will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis and there will be two pickup locations available, one in Boulder and one in Longmont to choose during the time of checkout.

“Trees are assets to a community when properly planted and maintained,” said Dan Lambe, president, Arbor Day Foundation. “They help to improve the visual appeal of a neighborhood, increase property values by up to 18%, reduce home cooling costs, remove air pollutants, and provide wildlife habitat, among many other benefits.”

Starting today, Boulder County residents can reserve their trees by visiting www.ArborDay.org/bouldercounty. Residents will use an online tool to determine where they should plant their new tree and estimate the annual energy savings that will result from planting a tree in the most strategic location near their homes. Residents can reserve one tree per home and are expected to care for the tree and plant it in the location determined by the online tool. 

The four types of trees offered in 5-gallon sizes are the Bur Oak, Greenspire Linden, Hackberry, and Ponderosa Pine. 

Trees around homes help reduce the amount of energy required by shading and keeping temperatures cooler inside the home. Other benefits include adding to property value, reducing carbon footprints, improving air quality, more effectively catching stormwater runoff, and providing an urban cooling effect in the summer for the community, for you, and for generations to come.

For more information about the tree purchase program, contact Tyler Kesler at tkesler@bouldercounty.org or 720-564-2724. For more information about EnergySmart programs, visit www.EnergySmartYES.com or call 303-544-1000.