Columbia Green and the City of Columbia will start the New Year by partnering with Columbia College for their first free educational event of 2026 for Beat the Heat—Plant a Tree. This ambitious joint initiative, launched in July of 2024, set out to plant 1,750 trees over five years but has already distributed over 1,550 trees in just over 18 months.
Urban trees are the best defense against extreme city heat, air pollution, stormwater runoff, and the health disparities that exist in neighborhoods lacking a healthy tree canopy and readily accessible green spaces.
This month’s event, hosted by Columbia College at the Johnnie Cordell Breed Leadership Lecture Hall, will specifically focus on the health benefits of trees and the public health imperative of rebuilding urban canopies. Numerous studies show that lack of access to a healthy urban forest has many negative effects on public health outcomes, including higher incidence of stroke, heart attack, diabetes, and respiratory disease.
Columbia College got involved with Beat the Heat because folks there see this partnership as a way to do something about the public health crisis that exists all around them…