Riverside celebrates planting of 1,000th new tree in Eastside neighborhood

The City of Riverside partnered with the California Strategic Growth Council, the urban greening non-profit TreePeople, and Eastside neighborhood residents, to plant the 1,000th new tree Saturday in one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods.

“What an incredible milestone for the Eastside neighborhood,” said Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes, who represents the area. “Trees help give shade to neighborhoods and make them more inviting to walk, play, and explore. The planting of 1,000 trees is also due to the hard work of hundreds of volunteers and TreePeople who are dedicated to making the Eastside community better. Eastside residents and volunteers have worked hard to meet this goal!”

Part of an ongoing collaboration with the State of California’s Strategic Growth Council under its Transformative Climate Communities Implementation Grant Program (TCC Grant), this 1,000th tree marks a milestone to meeting the overall goal of planting 2,000 trees in the greater Eastside neighborhood. These trees are a combination of “street trees” in the public right-of-way and “shade trees” that are planted on private property. 

The TCC grant, now in its final year of operation, also funded street traffic safety improvements, energy and water conservation, workforce development, and assisted in funding the 65-unit La Entrada affordable housing project located at the corner of 7th and Chicago streets.

The Nature Conservancy notes that cities are losing approximately four million trees each year, mainly through disinvestment. But trees have great value to neighborhoods. The U.S. Forest Service estimates that the value of a tree in shade, energy savings, reduced noise, increased property values and improved quality of life is almost $4,000 annually.

“Cities need trees! They are important tools for combating heat and making our community more livable,” Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said. “Riverside is reversing a nationwide trend by increasing the number of trees in our city, making our neighborhoods cooler, greener and more beautiful.”

The ceremonial 1,000th tree was planted at Riverside Faith Temple, 2355 Pennsylvania Avenue. The event also included a neighborhood resource fair and the ability to “adopt” a free fruit tree. 

The City of Riverside is known as a “City of Trees” with an estimated 1.5 million trees citywide, according to the City’s Urban Forester, Robert Filiar. In 2024, the city was awarded $1 million from the U.S. Forest Service to inventory all trees in the city. During the past 20 years, Riverside Public Utilities Tree Power Program has helped plant 270,000 trees in Riverside. 

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