Free trees offered to City of Charlottesville residents

The Charlottesville Department of Utilities announced the Arbor Day Foundation’s Energy-Saving Trees program is back. The City is providing 200 free trees to customers in the City of Charlottesville to plant on their property to help conserve energy and reduce energy bills.

The strategic planting of trees provides a variety of benefits for individual households, as well as the broader community. Properly planted trees can reduce the amount of energy a home requires to remain comfortable by providing a barrier to cold winter winds and delivering shade in the summer.

When planted properly, a single tree that grows over time can save a homeowner up to 20 percent on energy costs.

Trees also provide several benefits for the entire community, such as increasing capacity for carbon sequestration, improving air quality and providing more effective stormwater filtration and runoff reduction to help keep pollutants out of water supplies.

With guidance from the Charlottesville Tree Commission, this year’s available tree varieties include Serviceberry, Black Gum, Ironwood, Willow Oak and Tulip Poplar.

Tree reservations are limited to one tree per service address and made on a first-come, first-served basis beginning Monday, March 6.

Reservations may be made by accessing the interactive tree portal provided by the Arbor Day Foundation at www.arborday.org/charlottesville.

This user-friendly portal provides simple step-by-step instructions that focus on homeowner education, and maximizing environmental impact, to calculate where to specifically and strategically plant trees for the greatest energy- and money-saving benefit.

Prior to planting a tree, customers should contact Virginia 811 at least three working days before planting to have the location of buried utility lines on their property marked by a professional. Knowing the location of buried utilities helps prevent their damage, and a potentially hazardous situation. The service is free and allows customers to dig safely while planting their tree.