City offers free trees to residents

As part of an effort to expand Sarasota’s tree canopy, the city is giving away 100 free trees to residents beginning today.

The giveaway is part of a partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation. Residents can visit the Arbor Day Foundation website to claim a tree. The website also allows residents to map the tree on their property and provides an estimate of energy cost savings associated with planting the tree.

“If you plant a tree in the right place, the shade it offers can be hugely beneficial in terms of a family’s annual energy bill,” city Sustainability Manager Stevie Freeman-Montes said in a release. “On top of that, this program benefits our environment in so many ways and makes our neighborhoods more enjoyable places to live.”

The city is giving away four Florida native tree species: sweetbay magnolia, red maple, bald cypress and shumard oak. The program is funded via the city’s tree removal surcharge.