NORTH LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — North Las Vegas city officials, along with nonprofit Nevada Plants, gave away 50 free trees Tuesday morning to combat heat and food insecurity in the community.
Officials say they're working to partner with different nonprofits to get trees into the city's hottest areas. Tuesday's giveaway focused on the Neighborhood Recreation Center area near Bruce and Owens, an area Municipal Forester Eddie Rodriguez says is one of the hottest areas in North Las Vegas.
"As you know, if you were to get under a tree or stand underneath one in the summertime, it's like 10 to 15 degrees cooler. So this is why we need to take trees and plant them in areas where we're deficient," Rodriguez said.
Fruit-bearing trees were also given away to tackle food insecurity in the area.
In addition to the tree giveaway, Rodriguez said the city is also actively scanning all of the trees in the city to help them take account of what is in the city's public rights-of-way.
A Canopy Study to find out where more trees will need to go is also being done between now and the next three to six months. That study will provide officials with the necessary information to create a forestry plan to create a sustainable urban forest for the city for the next 10-15 years.
All of this is part of the city's strategic goal to provide better community health and well-being.
"People say, 'How many trees are you going to plant?,' and we say 'We're going to plant as many trees as we need to to meet the needs of the people,'" Rodriguez said. "It could be 5,000, it could be 10,000, it could be 15,000. Whatever it takes."
Rodriguez says they're planning to have tree giveaways every quarter for as long as they can. For more information on future giveaways, or about the city's efforts, visit the city's website here.
