Request a free tree for spring planting

The Heights Tree People take a break between plantings.

Heights Tree People is beginning its fifth year as a volunteer organization, working to rebuild the tree canopy in Cleveland Heights and University Heights by planting trees in people’s front yards, free of charge.

The group is currently accepting tree requests for spring planting of trees, which runs April through May.

Requesting a tree now enables them to conduct a site visit prior to planting season, to find the right location and tree for a specific front yard.

Arborist and Heights Tree People founding member Laura Marks sums up the extensive benefits of trees, saying, simply, “People are happier and healthier when they live with trees. Trees civilize us. They clean our environment.”

When trees are lost, so are their benefits. The Cuyahoga County Tree Canopy Assessment shows that Cleveland Heights lost 14 percent of its tree canopy between 2013 and 2019, and University Heights lost 26 percent during the same time period.

Heights Tree People wants to stop—and even reverse—this decline.

The group believes if everyone does their part—whether that be planting a front-yard tree, requesting a tree-lawn tree from their city, or encouraging friends and neighbors to take advantage of these free resources—the Heights will become a stronger, healthier, and more attractive community.

If you would like to host a new tree, request a free front-yard tree from the Heights Tree People by visiting www.heightstreepeople.com, or sending an e-mail to heightstreepeople@gmail.com. To request a tree-lawn tree, call 216-601-3717 in Cleveland Heights, or 216-932-8531 in University Heights.