Trees for Our Urban Forest

On Saturday, April 12, 2008, Mayor Martin Chávez showed how important Albuquerque's trees are to him by giving away 5,000 trees to Albuquerque citizens!

The City of Albuquerque Parks and Recreation Department in partnership with Tree New Mexico gave away these trees to increase tree canopy in residential neighborhoods and citywide. Trees save you money by reducing your energy costs, increasing property values, and cleaning the environment. All tree species are approved through the City, low water use, and primarily large shade trees and some small trees.

Mayor Chávez and Tree New Mexico Celebrate their Millionth Tree!

On Saturday, March 17th, 2007, Mayor Chávez joined Tree New Mexico in planting the organization's one millionth tree!

That day, they launched a new program to Plant a Million More. To learn more about the new program, call Tree New Mexico at 505-265-4554.

Types of Trees

The trees given away are specially chosen to live long and well in Albuquerque's dry, high desert climate. They include:

• Austrian pine - (Pinus Nigra) A long-lived medium to tall tree, that is winter-hardy and somewhat drought resistant. It grows well on a wide variety of soils. It is tolerant of city smoke, dust & dry soil. Height: up to 40' tall & 20' wide.
• Afghan pine - (Pinus Eldarica) Evergreen tree with rapid growth rate. It is drought tolerant and can withstand considerable heat. Height of 30'-8'.
• NM Olive - (Forestreria neomexicana) Fast growing, dense shrub with slender bright green leaves and tiny yellow flowers in spring. Height: 8'. One of the Best Flowering Trees for Albuquerque, according to the City Forester.
• Desert Willow - (Chilopsis linearis) Can grow into a bush or a small tree with bell-shaped flowers. Very drought tolerant and loves full sun and alkaline soils. Height: 10' to 25'. One of the Best Flowering Trees for Albuquerque, according to the City Forester.
• Lacebark Elm - (Ulmus parvifolia) Medium-sized shade tree with an oval to round crown. Fast growing, hardy tree. Spreads as much as 70 '. Good choice for urban areas and for windbreaks. Excellent ability to adapt to poor soils, extremes of pH. Height: 40-60 '. One of the best shade trees for Albuquerque, according to the City Forester.

View a list of City Forester Recommended Trees

Why Does Mayor Chávez Give Out Free Trees?

Mayor Chávez holds Annual Tree Giveaways to encourage Albuquerque residents to plant trees, which help reduce carbon in the atmosphere.

In June 2006, Mayor Chávez adopted the 2030 Challenge as a goal for Albuquerque. The Challenge stipulates that by the year 2030, Albuquerque will be carbon neutral. These trees will help the City reach that goal.

Share Your Photos

Are you planting trees? Share photos of family, friends, and neighbors planting trees in Albuquerque.

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Trees Store Carbon

Trees have an amazing ability to offset human carbon emissions. Check out the statistics:

• The average person in America generates approximately 2.3 tons of carbon dioxide every year.
• An average healthy tree stores about 13 pounds of carbon annually.
• An acre of trees can store 2.6 tons of carbon annually.

• A single mature tree can absorb carbon dioxide at a rate of 48 pounds per year and release enough oxygen back into the atmosphere to support two human beings.
• 300 trees can offset the amount of air pollution one person produces in a lifetime!

Trees are Valuable
In addition, the baby trees that we plant now will grow in value as they grow in age and size. They play an instrumental role in expensive problems like stormwater reduction, energy conservation, and cleaner air.

Tree New Mexico and the "Plant a Million More" Campaign

Tree New Mexico is a local non-profit that partners with neighborhood associations, schools, Scout troops, government agencies, and other community groups to educate the public on the importance of trees.

Seventeen years ago, Tree New Mexico started an effort to plant one million trees across New Mexico. On March 17th, the group celebrated the planting of it's one millionth tree!

The group plans to celebrate the accomplishment of its goal by launching a new program called Plant a Million More. Great work, Tree New Mexico!

Learn More About Your New Tree

Planting your new tree >>
The best trees for Albuquerque >>
Caring for your tree >>