TreeSmart Fe is hosting events to discuss helping an 80-year-old tree and to plant trees along the Santa Fe River at the Rose Park Community Meeting and the Santa Fe River Planting.

“We had a group called Friends of the Santa Fe River that’s been taking care of this one stretch for quite awhile, and we’ve been slowly removing invasive species so that native species could come up,” Melissa McDonald, acting parks department director, said about the Santa Fe River Planting event. “We’re going to put in some cottonwoods, poplar, and box elder to replace the trees we took out.”

Those who attend the Santa Fe River Planting event will learn a technique they could use at home. It uses runoff water to create lagunitas, or rain gardens, giving the trees access to water longer.

“We want to make sure that every tree we plant lives and that we’re giving it everything it needs to be successful because, in the urban forests, most trees only live like seven years,” McDonald said. “We feel that it’s not about quantity, it’s about quality, and giving the plants everything they need.”

The organization will talk about succession planting and why it’s important to help the 80-year-old cottonwood tree during the upcoming meeting.

The organization notes how many trees are around Santa Fe. Its 2019 inventory report said there were 1,791 trees in the area.

“We have a plant list that will give folks [a] handy place to see what kind of trees we are finding and are doing well,” McDonald said. “Our municipal tree board is ... made up of arborists and local landscapers that put this together.”

The city has allocated $60,000 in the FY22 budget for the program next year. Trees are best planted in fall because of the high-desert landscape.

TreeSmart Santa Fe began on Arbor Day, April 30, 2021. Upcoming events are on Oct. 7 and Oct. 23 throughout the city.

For more information, contact McDonald at mamdonald@santafenm.gov.