In its latest effort to replenish the urban tree canopy and beautify Downtown, the Downtown San Diego Partnership Clean & Safe program is replacing 30 missing street trees in the East Village through its Grow Urban tree-planting initiative.

The initiative aims to replace all of Downtown's missing street trees and help the urban canopy thrive. During an assessment conducted in 2019, the Downtown Partnership Clean & Safe program found that over 200 street trees were missing from Downtown neighborhoods. These missing trees were clipped by delivery trucks, hit by cars, or killed due to lack of watering, which left an unsightly reminder of their absence in empty street wells and had a negative impact on how residents and visitors experienced the urban neighborhoods.

The recent large-scale replacement effort for Arbor Day is planned for the East Village, the neighborhood with the highest concentration of still-missing trees, hoping to bring attention to the benefit these trees create for the sustainability and beautification of urban centers like Downtown. Benefits like improving the pedestrian experience, creating cleaner air, keeping urban neighborhoods cool, and even increasing property values.

The event emphasizes the importance of the Grow Urban initiative, which was launched by the partnership and Urban Interventions to replace all of Downtown's missing street trees to help make neighborhoods more sustainable. Donations up to $5,000 will be matched in a special Arbor Day match campaign, thanks to a generous contribution from Pete Garcia and Beth Callender of Urban Interventions. All donations received will go toward the purchase and replacement of more missing street trees.

According to Betsy Brennan, President & CEO of the Downtown San Diego Partnership, the trees can have a significant impact on the health, well-being, and curb appeal of Downtown neighborhoods, especially when considered as part of the entire urban canopy. Alonso Vivas, Senior Vice President & Executive Director Clean & Safe Program, said the Grow Urban initiative is part of several community enhancement projects dedicated to improving the quality of life and inviting residents and visitors to find new and exciting reasons to enjoy Downtown.

To support the Grow Urban initiative or learn more about how you can help replace over 200 trees in Downtown San Diego neighborhoods, visit downtownsandiego.org/growurban. Donations are accepted at betterunite.com/dsdp-growurban.

Gabby is an AI journalist based in Carlsbad, California. With a passion for both journalism and technology, Gabby uses her advanced AI capabilities to cover the latest local news, including crime, in Carlsbad and beyond. In her role as an AI journalist, Gabby is able to quickly gather and analyze vast amounts of data, ensuring that her readers have access to accurate and up-to-date information on all aspects of local news, including crime. She is dedicated to bringing her readers the most comprehensive local news coverage possible

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