Today the City of San Diego held a tree planting event to celebrate the launch of Ready, Set, Grow San Diego, a $10 million tree planting project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry Grant Program, made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act.  

With the help of volunteers and staff from the City’s Urban Forestry program, 11 southern magnolia trees were planted at Linda Vista Park. Trees planted under Ready, Set, Grow San Diego will be watered and maintained by the Urban Forestry program. The City of San Diego will be joined in this effort by partner Tree San Diego, also a recipient of a USDA grant that will benefit the City with regional urban forestry management and workforce development. 

Today’s event also acknowledges the significant contributions of Kate Sessions to the City’s urban forest and marks the beginning of tree planting season in San Diego.   

“The City is committed to growing a healthy urban forest that provides many long-term environmental benefits,” said Bethany Bezak, Director of Transportation Department. “This is a key component of the City’s Climate Action Plan and we have set an ambitious target of planting 100,000 new trees by 2035.” 

The City plans to conduct community outreach to involve residents as trees are being planted in their neighborhoods. Residents can attend upcoming community meetings to learn about the types of trees and potential planting locations, provide feedback on areas that need more trees and participate in tree planting events. 

The USDA grant was among $1 billion in federal funding being distributed to cities across the nation to plant and maintain trees, and to aid in combating extreme heat and climate change.  One hundred percent of the funds will go toward investing in historically underserved communities to increase urban canopies and educate people on the benefits of trees. This grant will plant and care for over 5,000 new trees and protect more than 600 existing ones across San Diego. 

“Tree planting is the first step in creating a robust tree canopy and this funding will help us make significant progress toward reaching our climate action targets,” said Brian Widener, City Forester. “We appreciate the volunteers who came out to support our efforts in growing a resilient urban forest for all San Diegans”.

Kate Sessions was a botanist, horticulturalist and landscape architect who lived and worked in San Diego in the early 20th century. She was known as the “Mother of Balboa Park” and introduced hundreds of trees to the San Diego region, including the popular Jacaranda tree. Her legacy is celebrated on Kate Sessions Day every year on Nov. 8, which was her birthday.