Volunteers planted 14 trees at the Laguna Lake Municipal Golf Course in San Luis Obispo on Saturday.
The event was part of the city's Keys for Trees initiative, which is funded by a portion of the revenue raised by local hotel taxes. The money is donated to ECOSLO to coordinate volunteer events like this one as well as maintain the trees through the first three years of their lifespan, according to ECOSLO Program Coordinator Grant Helete.
The trees planted on Saturday were donated by PG&E.
"This is an incredible turnout of volunteers," said Teresa Alvarado, PG&E's South Bay/Central Coast Vice President. "It really speaks to how well-respected ECOSLO is and that this community really understands the importance of climate resilience and they know that trees really make a significant difference."
“Events like this are great today, but it's really the first part of a long journey for these trees," Helete said. "And a core part of that is doing the maintenance, especially during those first critical years, where we really take a lot of pride in the fact that we do a lot of that maintenance. If people are looking to contribute, we're always taking on long-term volunteers to help out.”
The City of San Luis Obispo has a goal of planting 10,000 trees throughout the community by 2035.
In addition to the 14 trees that were planted on Saturday, PG&E says it donated 10 trees that were planted at Sinsheimer Park earlier this month, and 10 more will be planted at the Laguna Lake Municipal Golf Course in April.
