Zoo New England has announced the launch of a major tree-planting initiative in Boston’s Dorchester and Roxbury neighborhoods. It aims to plant 2,000 trees over the next three years to combat urban heat islands and promote public health.
The effort is a collaborative partnership involving five partner organizations: the Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center, Boston PowerCorps, Greater Grove Hall Main Street, Neighborhood Forest, and the Price Center.
Planting trees means more than simply providing additional foliage to these neighborhoods. The 2,000 new trees and shrubs Zoo New England hopes to cultivate through its partnership — approximately two to four acres of increased canopy — will result in the release of 23 tons of oxygen, according to a Bay State Banner report. Additionally, the trees would store nine tons of carbon and take up more than 47,000 gallons of water that will be released as water vapor, cooling the surrounding area through transpiration…