"ReTree the District" has students and other community members coming together Saturday to plant 140 new trees.
Darren Cotton heads planning efforts at University District Community Development Association. He says 435 trees have been planted on residential streets between Main Street, Bailey Avenue, and Eggert Road.
Cotton says he hopes to increase that number by 140.
"It actually started about a year and a half ago. We were doing about 20 or 30 trees at a time," Cotton explained. "A bunch of us got together and said if we scale this project up -- and work with the university and other community stakeholders -- we can plant a few hundred at a time."
Many public and private sponsors have made the ReTree project possible.
Cotton says Saturday’s effort will make big strides towards the group’s goal of planting 1,000 trees across the University District.
ReTree was created in the wake of the October Surprise snowstorm nine years that claimed tens of thousands of trees throughout the region.