Media Advisory: ReTree the District to hold final planting to reach 1,000 tree goal

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Saturday will mark the final effort of the ReTree the District initiative to reforest the city’s University District by planting 1,000 trees in the neighborhood.

Hundreds of volunteers will dedicate one last morning to planting the remaining 215 trees on the streets west of Main Street, from Custer Street to Englewood Avenue, and east of Main Street, from Winspear Avenue to Shirley Avenue.

Launched two years ago, the initiative was accomplished with the help of more than 1,500 volunteers who logged more than 5,000 combined service hours, and donations totaling more than $22,000 to purchase trees, tools and materials.

The collaborative community-based project, facilitated by the University Heights Collaborative, has received financial and organizational support from the University at Buffalo, along with assistance from hundreds of student, faculty and staff volunteers from the UB Honors College and UB Academies.  

When: From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 5.

Where: The streets to the west of Main Street, from Custer Street to Englewood Avenue, and east of Main Street, from Winspear Avenue to Shirley Avenue. Volunteers will meet at 147 Diefendorf Hall on the UB South Campus at 9 a.m.

Media are invited to attend. On-site contact is Darren Cotton, UB alumnus and director of community development and planning at the University District Community Development Association, 716-857-0096.

ReTree the District is part of the larger ReTree Western New York, a coordinated effort to plant 30,000 new trees throughout Buffalo. The completion of the initiative is another step toward restoring Buffalo’s reputation as “The City of Trees.”

As part of the project, community members are encouraged to adopt the newly planted trees and attend hands-on workshops through a pilot tree stewardship program to increase survivorship rates.

For more information, visit ourheights.org/retree.