Anita Needs a Tree!
Who's Anita?
Anita is that smiley lady in the photo above - a joyful, community-minded, and long-time resident of Commerce City, Colorado. She's an active member of her community who's committed to environmental justice in her area, which is home to lots of amazing people like her, but also a lot of heat and pollution, and very few trees. She's also toasty. Anita needs some relief from the heat. Anita needs to be able to cool off, safely breathe the air and drink the water, and not have to worry about flooding all the time. Anita needs a tree!
Of course, it's not just Anita we're talking about. Several parts of metro Denver are as short on trees as they are full of wonderful-yet-toasty people who deserve so much more. From Sheridan to Anita's home in Commerce City, many of our neighborhoods have so few trees and so much heavy industry that it doesn't just cause discomfort – it has a real impact on the health of people and the rest of our ecosystem.
This is no coincidence. It's environmental injustice, and we all have a role to play in making things right.
Last summer, Anita asked Groundwork Denver about getting some trees out to her neck of the woods (or lack of woods, we should say). Since then, we've been laying the groundwork together to get leafy friends out to neighbors like her.
Why Trees?
Trees keep things cool. They clean the air, filter toxins from polluted storm water runoff, prevent flooding, and provide a beautiful habitat where we can literally – and figuratively – breathe a little easier. That's especially important in areas like Anita's, where heavy industry and development cause poor air and water quality, heat, flooding, and of course a lack of beautiful green spaces for people to recreate and gather. If you want to learn more about local environmental justice issues, we've linked our Climate Safe Neighborhoods analysis below.
Nature knows no boundaries, so when we focus our efforts in areas that are most impacted, we're contributing to a healthier, equitable, and sustainable future for us all. Thankfully, we have leafy friends, Anita, and a powerful community of people like you on our side.
The Plan
This Earth Month (April + May), we need your help getting 200 trees right into neighbors' yards. That's 100 trees going out to Sheridan residents, and 100 more in Commerce City. Residents can also sign up for rain barrels, rain gardens, and all sorts of other tree-related and eco-friendly services through Anita Needs a Tree.
We Need You!
If you're like Anita and could use a tree, or you want to come along in solidarity, or both, you can take action right now.
Below are a number of ways you can get involved.
Have questions or ideas? You're "barking" up the right tree.
Contact our project lead:
Savanna Hanson (they/them/theirs)
Director of Development
Savanna@GroundworkColorado.org
720-470-1831
Anita Needs a Tree Sponsors
Anita Needs a Tree Partners
