Offering nine stunning varieties of urban hardy trees, Denver Digs Trees is back in full swing this year, and it couldn’t be soon enough. Denver is in the midst of an eerily hot and dry winter and fall, following a summer marked by extreme heat, wildfires, and drought. The Front Range will continue to heat up, at least for the next 60 years, even if our carbon emissions were to grind to a halt today. In the face of such daunting challenges, it’s programs like Denver Digs Trees that give Denverites a little control over their immediate environment. Planting a tree is a tangible, dirt-under-the-nails way to take action now that will cool the home, shade the street, and provide beauty and joy for generations.
Trees help mitigate climate change, capture and clean stormwater, filter air pollutants, moderate urban heat, and reduce energy use. They are essential components of a healthy city, from the upper reaches of their limbs scraping the sky to the expanse of their roots hugging the soil. Each tree is an integral part of the larger urban forest, working in concert to combat the urban heat island effect and create a safer, more walkable Denver.