Free trees will be given priority in Clark County, East Las Vegas zip codes

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (FOX5) – Thousands of trees are being given away for free. Clark County is providing up to two trees per household to help make Southern Nevada greener, cooler and more livable. On Friday, FOX5 was there when the first trees were distributed, marking the start of the Community Canopy Project.

At the Winchester Dondero Cultural Center in East Las Vegas, classrooms were transformed into a nursery with a variety of plants that thrive in the desert, including Texas Oak and Velvet Mesquite.

“I’m so excited to have more trees in my yard,” said Susy Farray, who went home with two trees to shade the front of her house, including a Texas oak. The 2,200 trees distributed as part of the fall planting event will help expand Clark County’s tree canopy.

“They were on their way within 72 hours. We were amazed at the quick response,” said Kevin McDonald, public information officer for the Clark County Department of Environment and Sustainability. ZIP codes in East Las Vegas were preferred.

“We’re trying to get back into the older neighborhoods where they weren’t originally housed…In the future we might be able to spread it, but right now we just want to do it in East Las Vegas where we know it’s there too .” hot,” Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom said.

East Las Vegas is a hotspot for the urban heat island effect, an area where there is more concrete and asphalt (materials that retain more heat) than areas with more plants or desert landscapes.

“Honestly, in our valley we can run out of grass, but we can have trees and use those to mitigate the heat effect because it’s getting hotter,” Segerblom argued.

“For the last two years it’s just burned everything I had,” Arthur Hine told FOX5’s Kim Passoth about the plants in his garden. Hine will now replace trees that, like many in the valley, were lost to continued extreme temperatures. The trees provided by Clark County are capable of surviving harsh environments and will provide shade to the people who live around them.

“Yes, we live in the desert, but this year we hit 120 degrees in Clark County for the first time ever…So the heat continues to rise. “We have to find a way to bring the temperature down,” McDonald said.

An additional 2,300 trees will be distributed in the spring. Clark County is partnering with the Arbor Day Foundation to make this possible. Learn more about the Community Canopy Project: All In Clark County here

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